Matrimoanal Blisters
by SEZCPL
Summary: A couple check into a hotel. It's obvious to all that this is a relationship built on sand - probably of the 'quick' variety. What is Derek doing married to the cute brunette with the blue eyes. And why is everything not quite as it seems? - DASEY
1. Presenting The Newly Weds

"Good evening, sir." The tall, dark-suited receptionist called from behind the dark walnut desk. "We have your room ready for you and your lovely wife. I'm afraid we were unable to provide the exact category of room you requested due to a clerical oversight. But I'm pleased to tell you we have upgraded you to the Juliet suite and at no extra cost to yourselves." He made the pronouncement with a degree of pride.

Derek, less than smartly dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt, narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. "Juliet Suite?"

"Oh yes, sir. It's a beautiful room, very romantic." The receptionist reassured him. "All of our honeymoon rooms are. They are especially designed for our newlyweds with extra large beds, and a spa bath big enough for two." Derek got the impression the hotel receptionist was incredibly pleased with himself.

He turned to his wife. "Fancy that honey. _One_ extra large bed and you get to bath with me."  
His wife, immaculately dressed in smart slacks and a neat blouse glowered at him.

"You seriously think I'd share bath water with you?" Her tone was less than loving.

Derek coughed and smiled nervously at the receptionist before turning back to the pretty woman beside him.

"Now now, sweet pea, I know I forgot your birthday, but that was last week. Don't you think it's time you forgave me?" He questioned.

"Derek. I'm not sore at you for missing my _birthday_, I'm sore at you for not missing that bloody great tree!" The exasperation was evident in her voice. "We should be in New York right now. Not holed up in some hotel while the body shop tries to pull your fender back into shape." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck as though it hurt. "I don't think my neck will _ever_ be the same again."

Exasperation worked both ways. Derek sucked in air through his teeth and spoke without opening his mouth.

"Yeah well, toots. I gotta pain in the neck too." He looked pointedly at her and she glared back at him.

Feeling the drop in temperature, the receptionist quickly finished registering them and motioned for a porter to come and collect their luggage. He smiled wryly to himself as they made for the lift. That looked like a marriage made in hell, certainly not love's young dream, although they barely looked old enough to be married. He guessed they were former high school sweethearts or something. Maybe they eloped to Vegas. Whatever…it looked like they were already beginning to regret it. No wonder the original booking had requested a _twin_ room! Oh well, maybe the sight of the Juliet room would spring some romance into the marriage…

Looking up as they waited for the elevator, he saw the wife smack the husband on the arm forcefully.

…or maybe not.

He wondered if he should warn security just in case.

* * *

The ride up in the elevator was a silent one. The porter felt the quiet keenly. He noted the attractive couple ignored each other as the elevator flew upwards. The husband rubbed his arm absent-mindedly and the wife rubbed her neck. He too like the receptionist could tell they were a young couple, the man looking twenty one and his wife the same or a little younger.

She was pretty. A slim brunette with clear blue eyes and the porter would have winked at her, but he sensed that even if the husband was no longer in love with her, he wasn't the sort of guy to allow anyone to ogle his property.

The ping of the elevator arriving at their floor brought all three of them to their senses and the porter shifted the cases in his hands and waited for the doors to open.

They made their way down the corridor to the _Juliet_ suite and the young couple noted the thick carpet and expensive paint-job on the walls. They weren't used to this sort of luxury but this had been the only hotel in the area with a vacancy and they weren't paying, so what the hell!

The porter paused at their door, slipped the card key into the slot and with a practiced ease, managed to open the door and sweep into the room, whilst still carrying their suitcases. He paused a short way inside the door to rest one case on the little ledge designed to hold it while it was being unpacked, and then he stacked the other case beside it.

He moved further into the room, opening doors as he went.

"This is your bathroom with the shower and the spa bath. There are three speeds to the bubbles and the instructions are on the side. Your fresh towels are on the shelves over there." He moved on further. "This is your walk-in closet, containing your refreshment facilities, personal safe and, should you require it, the ironing board and iron. You'll see you have a fantastic emperor-sized bed, and the view from your balcony is spectacular."

The young woman walked to the full length window and pulled back the filmy curtains. Much as she hated to admit it, the porter was right. The view from the balcony was of the New York skyline some distance away. She sighed and leaned her head against the cold glass. It was getting dark already even though it was still early afternoon. By rights she should be having a shower in her small apartment and settling down to some serious studying, but thanks to Derek's erratic driving on obviously icy roads, they were stuck here until the garage could make his car drivable again.

As if life didn't suck enough as it was!

Turning back into the room, she saw her husband slip the porter a bank note and she raised her eye at the value. The door slammed behind the porter.

"What?" Derek asked. "It got rid of him didn't it?"

She rolled her eyes and looked at the enormous bed.

"You can have the bed." She said. "I'll take the couch."

* * *

The air was thick with steam, and the steady pounding on the back of her neck was heavenly. If she closed her eyes, she could almost forget that she was living this horrible existence. She leaned into the water and for a few moments imagined she was in the rainforest that the shower head was optimistically named after.

Outside the bathroom, Derek was pacing the bedroom, his cell phone to his ear.

"Yeah. I'm sure it wasn't tampered with. I just hit a patch of ice and the car skidded into the tree. It's fucking February after all." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"By all means, send someone to look at the freaking car if it makes you happy. Yeah I sound pissed. You try being holed up in a hotel room with a woman who hates you. What do you mean have I checked out the room? I'm sitting in it. Bugs? Seriously, have you seen this hotel. Believe me, there are no 'roaches here. Oh. Not those sorts of bugs. Well I'd look but I haven't got a clue what I'm looking for." He continued to listen and this time his movements around the room had a purpose as he listened to and carried out the instructions passed to him on the phone.

A while later, his wife stuck her head out from inside the bathroom, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body and a smaller towel wrapped around her head.

"Close your eyes." She ordered.

"Why?" He retorted.

"Because I'm naked Derek and I have no intention of giving you a show."

He snorted. "I'm not into freak shows either, _babe_. There's a robe in the closet."

A moment later, he looked up suddenly aware she hadn't moved.

"What?" He grouched.

"Do you think you might possibly…I don't know…_pass_ it to me?" she asked sarcastically.

Reluctantly, he stood up and moved to the closet, retrieved the robe and threw it at her. She caught it with one hand, the other still holding the towel to her body in a desperate manner. His eyes flicked briefly to her figure and despite himself when he turned away from her, he wore a large smile on his face.

She had an unbelievable body. Not that he'd ever seen it in detail.

The irony was, even though she was his wife. He couldn't lay a finger on her.

Fortunately, _because_ she was his wife, neither could anyone else!

And that really was a reassuring thought, given her unimaginably bad luck (read _appalling taste_) when it came to matters of the heart. Did he have to mention Truman, anyone? Even after two and a bit years, the guy still left a nasty taste in Derek's mouth.

She emerged from the bathroom now wrapped in the robe, rubbing her hair with the smaller towel.

"Do humanity a favour _jerk_ and have a shower." She requested. He shrugged. He had fully intended to, but her order had delayed it by another ten minutes. He kicked back on the gargantuan bed she had gifted to him and pressed the button on the TV remote, hoping for some sort of sport action. He wondered if he could claim it back on expenses if he watched some of the porn channels. Of course first he'd have to get rid of _her_.

A cushion sailed through the air and connected with his head.

"Look moron. I want to get dressed and I can't do that with you in the room. Go have a shower."

He didn't look up. "Let me see…NO!" He retorted, enjoying the way her eyes darkened. She was hot as hell when she was angry.

His wife rummaged in her suitcase, retrieving a set of pink panties and a bra.

"Fine!" She said. "Don't leave. Only don't complain about the view."

Deliberately, and very, very unexpectedly, she started to slip the panties and the bra on under the robe, and then even more unexpectedly, she dropped the robe from her body and walked across the bedroom again to search out something more substantial to wear.

With a loud yelp, Derek flew off the bed as though a raging husband with a 12-bore was after him, and disappeared into the bathroom. He slammed the door behind him, leaned up against it and tried to ignore the throbbing between his legs.

That…woman would be the death of him! He locked the door and climbed into the shower. The bathroom still smelt of her body wash – why couldn't she have used the hotel version? It was meant to be non-descript. Instead, he was standing in a shower with the shame of his attraction to his wife physically evident – and her smell was just making the whole situation worse than ever.

He sighed, thumped the shower on, and tried to think of something less attractive than the woman he was currently sharing his life with. It wasn't at all easy.

Left alone in the bedroom, Casey sat on the edge of his bed and laughed.


	2. Ben McCloud

How did she do this? Effortlessly wear away at him without so much as opening her mouth? She had chosen a black jersey dress which clung to her body in all the right/wrong places and left him short of breath. And now she was sitting opposite him, her hair scooped up into that half and half style he remembered from their teenage years, regarding the menu with the curiosity of a young child.

And there was the dichotomy that was Casey. She could drop her robe in front of him, argue with him till the cows came home. It would not change the fact that she was an innocent; a thin-skinned innocent.

A thin-skinned innocent in a seductive dress.

Sometimes he was glad he was her husband, because she needed that. She needed a husband. She needed a protector.

He'd been in the protector role since he was fifteen. Was there a long service medal or something? That was only six years but hell sometimes it felt like sixty

"Are you going to choose something, or are we just here for the outing?" His tone was acerbic as usual. How could he be anything else around her?

"There's a lot of choice." She said, firmly. "I'm enjoying taking my time."

He sniffed. "No shit, Sherlock! Just order the vegetarian lasagne. You know you want to."

Casey put down her menu and regarded him like a spoilt child.

"Like you're going to choose something other than steak and chips."

Her husband shrugged. "Hey. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"I can see your arteries furring from here."

"Blessed with x-ray vision now, Case? Tell me. How's my prostrate doing?"

Involuntarily, her eyes dropped to approximately where his groin was, although she couldn't see through the table. He smirked and raised his hand to catch the waiter's eye. When he arrived, Derek ordered.

"I'll have the sirloin and fries, hold the dressing and she'll have the mushroom ravioli."

"Der-ek!"

He grinned. "Come on, Casey. You'd decided against the vegetarian lasagne because that's what I said you'd have so the next obvious choice is the ravioli."

He was smug because he knew he'd won.

"Madam?" The waiter asked Casey.

"I'll have the vegetarian lasagne." She said with a resigned look. Derek grinned.

"The trouble with you, Casey, is you are too predictable." He commented as the waiter walked away.

Casey rallied slightly, raising her eyes into her eyebrows.

"Predictable, huh? So the bolting for the bathroom when I was changing earlier was planned…?"

Feeling uncomfortable, but determined not to show it, Derek shrugged.

"I had a sudden urge to vomit."

* * *

The waiter brought them wine and Derek watched Casey sip at her solitary glass. He admired her restraint. Their current predicament had him worrying that he was turning into an alcoholic.

They ate in silence, both reluctantly appreciating the food placed before them.

"Did you call in?" Casey asked quietly after a while.

"Yeah."

"And?"

"They are sending someone to check the car. Apparently, they want to make sure it wasn't sabotage."

Her eyes widened. He sighed.

"Casey. Relax. They are over-reacting."

"But what if…?"

"We told no one, we were coming this way. It isn't exactly the more straight forward route home to New York. I'm pretty sure someone watches our car every night in the parking lot. And you saw the guy in the lounge as we came through."  
He watched as her breathing stabilised.

"It freaks me out. What with Lizzie and…"

"I know." Derek's voice held no trace of distain or teasing. It was calm, level and honest. "Casey. These guys know what they're doing. Trust them."

She picked up her knife and fork again.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" She stated.

"No, princess. _We_ don't."

She realised he was as much a victim as she was. It was the only reason she was still here.

The rest of the meal passed quietly, and for them rather peacefully.

"You done?" Derek asked eventually. Casey nodded.

"Shall we?" He continued. She nodded again and that irritating vulnerability was back. – Irritating, because it clawed at him and made him break every vow he had ever made to himself about Casey McDonald…correction…Casey Venturi.

She stood up from the table and clasped her bag to her, and as they made their way from the restaurant, he found his hand on the small of her back guiding her through the lounge area towards the elevator. He nodded slightly to the man seated reading the New York Times with his ankle resting on the opposite knee, but Casey knew she was the only person who noticed – and that was because she expected it.

"He's had a haircut." She commented as the elevator doors closed. "I preferred it longer."

Derek laughed a genuine laugh and after a while, Casey joined in.

* * *

It was early, but they couldn't go out so they stayed in their room. Derek flicked on the TV and started channel-hopping, Casey, as per her usual evening routing, pulled her laptop from her suitcase and fired it up. She by-passed the free internet provided by the hotel and used her cell to dial up the encrypted network that came up as her default.

A few moments later and she was entering her email Inbox hoping for something she rarely found. Tonight, however, she was in luck. Her check of her account on gmail had yielded one solitary email, from someone called 'Ben McCloud'. Her breath caught.

"_Hi Angel! Just a quick note because I'm on the move again. I spoke to Mom and she tells me everyone is okay, but no news on the Lilly front. I guess no news is good news. She told me to tell you that Rupert is out of diapers! And Mary has started dancing lessons so that she can be like her big sister. She said to tell David that Ewan is currently on suspension for super-gluing the toilet seats down at school and she totally blames David!_

_I hope the two of you are getting on okay. Mom says she watches the news and wonders every time they report a domestic! I've told her not to be so pessimistic, I'm sure you are working this out in a mature and responsible way! Or at least are being careful that the bruises don't show. _

_On a serious note, I'm sorry about all the disruption, darling. I know you said you understood, but I would be lying to myself if I believed it. It hurts more than I can say about Lilly. This was not what I became a lawyer for._

_Mom asked me to tell you not to worry about her and the rest of the family. Gordon is doing a great job of keeping them sane and aside from the visits to Lilly, life is continuing as normal._

_I'm trying not to have false hope, but there is some indication that things will resolve themselves soon. I am hoping to have a date for that._

_Look after yourself, Angel. Listen to the guys, they know what they are doing. And listen to David, you may have different life philosophies but he's a good guy and he's always done well by you…pranking aside._

_Take Care my darling,_

_DadXXX"_

* * *

Derek saw her reading something on her laptop. It made him sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want her to get the emails, because he did, he needed them as much as she did. The problem was he knew what the aftermath was like. He had watched it before.

And sure enough, he watched as she shutdown the laptop, slipped it back into her suitcase, and, having already prepared for bed, made herself a bed on the sofa and tried to go to sleep. Within minutes, as predicted, he heard the soft sound of her sobs.

He hesitated. The very first time this had happened, he had tried to jerk her out of it with his usual gruff, irritating behaviour and he had received a very impressive blow to the jaw for his troubles. The next time he had tried to be reassuring and she hadn't believed he was sincere. He couldn't win when she was like this.

But that didn't mean he had to give up trying.

Derek climbed off the bed and crossed to the sofa. Kneeling beside her he brushed the hair from her face with his fingers and the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. Then saying nothing he stood again, bent towards her and before she could object, he slid his hands under her and lifted her into his arms.

She raised her head and stared at him, but she didn't speak until he had lowered her into his bed and covered her up.

"What are you doing Derek?" Her voice was thick with the tears she had begun to shed.

"You have whiplash. You need a decent night's sleep and sleeping on the couch isn't going to give it too you."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

He shrugged. "On the couch."

* * *

Derek lay in the make-shift bed on the couch. The sobbing noise had died away and he was convinced that she was asleep, so her voice in the semi-dark was a surprise.

"Do you miss them?"

"Yes."

"Do you regret making this choice?"

"Everyday."

Her breath hitched. "Oh."

He relented and told the truth.  
"No Casey. I don't regret _this_. I don't enjoy this, but it was the right thing to do." He sat up and turned to face her. "What about you?"

"I hate this. But I'd hate the alternative more."

He reached a hand across towards the bed and her own hand clasped it.

They were quiet for a minute.

"Derek?"  
"Yeah?"

"I've thought really hard about it and I think there is a fair chance I won't kill or maim you if you sleep in this bed with me. In a brotherly way, of course."

He snorted. "Brotherly? Casey, We're married. If this was the olden times I would be able to not only _insist_ on us sleeping in the same bed, but I could divorce you for not putting out. You can't use that brother /step-brother crap against me anymore."

He sounded irritated, but he was on his feet and moving towards _his_ side of the bed.

She felt a draught as he pulled back the covers and then the bed dipped as he climbed in.

"For the record, your virtue is safe." He added.

* * *

**AN: This should have been posted last night, but my internet service was down.**

**I am expecting:**

**a) A flood of people telling me what they think is going on.**

**b) A flood of people saying they guessed what was going on in chapter 1 and this chapter just confirms it.**

**Sorry. I'm predictable.**


	3. Lilly

Casey was dreaming.

_It was a very detailed dream containing colour, sounds and smells. There were no missed segments as her mind fast-forwarded through the good bits, because it wasn't a nice dream, there weren't any good bits._

_She heard laughter. The same short sound repeated over and over again, each time with a louder echo, and what had started off a lovely warm sound was now distorted into a grotesque noise. _

_She saw the same scene over and over again. Her feet walking a wide sidewalk, the flashes of yellow as cabs flew past her, heard the warm laugh beside her. The echoes altered and when she glanced at her feet she saw she was a short distance from steps leading down; looking up she saw the entrance to the subway. Her sub-conscious recognised it for what it meant. She was going on the subway, approaching the steps down._

_A flash of red beside her and she turned to see the young, pretty brunette next to her grinning and Casey smiled in her dream. The smile disappeared with a flash of brown then red as the girl beside her was knocked forwards. Casey cried out and reached for her, but their hands missed each other and Casey watched helplessly as the girl tumbled forward head first down the steep stone steps. _

_Casey found her mouth open, but no scream came out, she turned but the flash of brown had disappeared into the crowd. She darted down the steps to the lifeless form of her companion. She heard screaming, but it wasn't coming from Casey. It was coming from up above where a myriad of faces were suddenly looking at her, and she felt herself sink to the ground. _

Her eyes jerked awake and she had an idea she had made some sort of sound out loud. Her cheeks were wet and her breathing laboured. She was in bed, in the hotel room and the clock said 3.03AM.

An arm tightened around her startling her. It was a man's arm and she was surprised again. Casey had never slept in the same bed as a man before.

"Nightmare?" Derek murmured in her ear.

"Yes." She managed, and although she was disturbed by her dream, she was also distracted by his proximity. Since when did sleeping in the same bed involve sleeping with his arm round her?

But, she didn't remove it. It was strangely reassuring to her, and she tried to pass it off as Derek being her only contact with home and family.

"Lizzie?" He questioned.

Casey nodded. "I keep playing the scene over and over again: walking with Lizzie, laughing with Lizzie, the sudden shock of the push and then watching her fall…and the blood and the screams." Her voice broke on the last word.

Derek shifted, turning her towards him and pulling her close.

"She'll be fine, Casey." He said, trying to inject confidence into his words.

His wife's head jerked up. "We don't _know_ that. It's too early to tell."

"You have to believe it."

"I can't." she protested. "I'm too worried and so scared."

Derek sighed, but it was a sympathetic sigh and he brushed her cheek with his fingers. "Casey. We are supposed to be young, carefree, newlyweds. When we get to New York you cannot walk around as though your sister is in a coma. No one would believe this lie. They _have_ to believe it."

Casey sniffed. "Like they are going to believe we're newlyweds. We obviously can't stand each other."

The irony of her statement was not lost on her. For a couple who "can't stand each other" their current position – lying together, wrapped in each other, faces close, voices low – was atypical. When Derek spoke his voice was a whisper.

"Newsflash, babe. We _are_ newlyweds."

Casey looked despairingly at him. Her voice was definitely not a whisper. "I know that jerk. I was there remember? Been there, wore the dress got the t-shirt, driven thousands of exhausting miles from Vegas."

Casey was pissed at him, as usual, but he noted that she hadn't moved away from him on the bed.

He did remember her being there. He remembered his (beautiful) shy bride in the white shift dress with the flower in her hair, biting her lip and whispering under her breath to him.

"This changes nothing. I still feel the same way about you. And you can forget about consummation!"…immediately before she repeated her vows in front of the minister and Derek, smirking, reciting his own vows slipped the ring on her finger and allowed her to do the same. And for the first time since they met, the word "step" was no longer important to them. This _legal_ relationship trumped every definition of what they were to each other.

So he really couldn't forget.

Before the ceremony and on the way to Vegas he had an argument with her (and Ronald) because he thought they should be married by "Axel Rose". Casey had glared at him like he was insane. She had said "no way am I being married by a pretend rock star – even for _this _wedding" and consulted Ronald and Angelo. Ronald said he had to go with Casey on that one and couldn't Derek just let his prospective wife have her way? Angelo rolled his eyes and went for a cancer stick.

Derek had pointed out that it could be worse. He could want "Elvis" to perform the ceremony and as Casey had been saying "No way" all the way from Ontario they were never going to get her to choose a minister. It would be a bloody miracle if she said yes at the altar.

Ronald had put his foot down in his characteristically effeminate way and Derek was wondering how on earth this guy was supposed to install fear in criminals when he just made Derek want to laugh.

In the end, at Ronald's insistence, Derek and Casey had been married by a Barry White look-alike to the sounds of the oddly (in)appropriate "Just the way you are."

Ronald had shed tears. Casey and Derek had almost shed blood. Angelo closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

Next time, Derek told himself, if there ever _was _a next time – this could put him off marriage for life – next time, it would be a beach wedding in Taihiti. To a super-model who had more important uses for her mouth than arguing with him.

"Casey. Why is this _my _fault? The whole root of this stems as I recall from _your_ side of the family."

She sat up. "This isn't _my_ fault!"

"I didn't say it was, but there's a McDonald behind this."

Her eyes bore into him. "He had no choice, Derek."

"Neither do I, princess. But apparently that gives you the right to be pissed at me." His voice was suddenly quiet as he sat up behind her. Casey's posture slumped.

"No. I guess it isn't your fault – for once. It's just…who else do I get to shout at? My family are so far from here! I can't tell my friends. You're all I have right now."

"Vice Versa. I have no one to get pissed at either." Derek said softly. "Just you - and Ronald downstairs, if I was desperate."

Casey pulled a face. "Ronald…Don't remind me. Ugh! What on earth possessed him to choose Barry White? My god! The shame of it! I had a Barry White Wedding! Emily would freaking kill me!"

"You don't like Barry?" Derek said leaning close, his amused voice dropping to a ridiculous bass note.

"'I'll never take anything for granted.'" He quoted. "'Only a fool takes…_things_ for granted. Just because it's here today…it could be gone tomorrow.'"

Casey couldn't help herself. She giggled. "Derek. You do realise that's frighteningly realistic! You sound just like him."

Derek wrapped his arms around her dramatically. "Thanks Babe." He said in her ear in his best Barry White voice. She squealed, wriggled and looked back up at him. The smile disappeared from her face.

"This sucks." She said honestly leaning her head back against his shoulder. "But it would suck a whole lot more if I was doing it on my own."

"I know. You'll owe me for the rest of your life." He said jocularly.

"Yes Derek. I will."

She wasn't joking.

* * *

There had been many times over the past month where he had questioned his own sanity. He had cursed himself loudly and colourfully at his incessant need to involve himself in stupid, ridiculous situations – the majority of which involved Casey. This, after all was a situation he did not need to get involved in. He could have chosen to be somewhere else, on his own; living the life of a young, single college student.

The only thing he would have lost was the hockey – it would have been too easy for someone to find him, and frankly losing the hockey wasn't such a bad thing after all. College sport was a great leveller. Derek had absolutely no doubt that he _could_ play pro-hockey, but it had been a surprise to find that he didn't _want_ to aim for that anymore.

So dropping hockey for _this_, wasn't as hard as you might have thought.

Even before George had taken him to one side _that_ day and spoken quietly to him, he had already worked out that hiding on his own wasn't going to happen. He didn't need his father's reminders about looking after family and how Derek needed to take care of Casey. The idea of her surviving this on her own…

He didn't do it because he was her brother, because he wasn't. He didn't do it because she was his step-sister, even though she was. He did it because he didn't trust anyone else to do it.

Derek didn't tell his father that. In fact, he didn't say yes straight away, though the idea of staying with her had crossed his mind and been internally accepted before George or Ronald and Angelo came to talk to him. If Casey was going to be apart from the family, there was no way Derek was going to leave her on her own.

Casey McDonald was bright, intelligent, physically strong and agile. She often had a tough exterior, particularly where Derek was concerned. But he of all people knew she had a soft centre.

And when he agreed to stay with her – and eventually to the bizarre idea of marrying her – he realised his centre was rather mushy too.

So here he was, Derek Venturi, holding his _wife_, Casey Venturi in his arms, in bed while she slept. They had been married for two weeks and for most of that they had been driving and staying in hotels.

A long 2500+ miles of highway, arguments, Casey freak-outs and, until tonight, _twin_ beds.

* * *

**AN: Just wondering if Barry White's rendition of "Just The Way You Are" might be the most bizarre, ridiculous yet weirdly appropriate Derek/Casey song ever????? Why does the thought of them being married by a BW lookalike tickle me?**

**Sorry. The UK is suffering badly with the snow at the moment. I have slush on the brain.**


	4. Mallows And Other Soft Things

_Two months earlier - Christmas Eve:_

"You'll get to see New York at Christmas one day, Casey. At least, this time you didn't spend two hours on the tarmac because of the weather."

Nora was trying to look on the bright side.

_Good luck with that._ Derek thought from his usual position on the recliner, feet up watching beach volleyball. He could hear his step-mother and step-sisters in the kitchen having their heart-to-heart over the fact that, yet again, Dennis had let his daughters down. This time, it was an invitation to spend Christmas with him that had been rescinded at the last moment. Apparently, Dennis had a difficult court case going on. Lizzie was disappointed too, but as she explained to Nora, both she and Casey had got to the point where until their father was actually there in front of them they were sceptical about promises.

Derek liked Dennis but he really needed to start treating his daughters better. Now Derek would have to avoid Casey all Christmas because if she got upset somehow it would be _his_ fault.

He hated it when she cried.

They were all home for Christmas this year, and it should be a good one. Robbie was old enough to understand that something special was going on. He was running from room to room exclaiming loudly in his two year old voice at the decorations and lights. When Derek and Casey had arrived home from Kingston, they had been press ganged into walking Robbie round the block so that he could look at the decorations on the front of other people's houses. Neither of them really minded. It was something they too remembered doing as children.

Queens had proved a success for both of them. Casey was acing her classes, despite the significant step up in expectations on the part of the lecturers. She had made several good friends and was happy. Derek too was doing well, at both the hockey and the academic side of his course. He had a slightly lower-key presence on campus than he had done at school. He was popular, but more for being good on the ice than for the pranks. It had been made clear to him when he first started that any repeat of his behaviour at high school would cause his scholarship to be withdrawn. Derek was enjoying college life – and his media courses too much to risk it.

The only pranks he allowed himself these days were small, almost insignificant and nearly all of them aimed at Casey. He reasoned with himself that she needed reminding he was there – that the alpha-dog still existed.

Because the pranks were mild, and fairly predictable, and because it was a reassuring sign of home, Casey put up with Derek's behaviour and didn't go running to the college authorities at the first whiff of superglue and honey.

They were still Derek and Casey, however, arguing with each other loudly and frequently. They made a point of meeting up at least twice a week specifically to do just that.

Derek had dated his way through the first year, with a different girl every night. It made Casey sigh but it wasn't anymore than she had expected. She still lectured him every time they saw each other though. What really freaked him out was when she started buying him bumper packs of condoms and giving him STD leaflets, citing sisterly concern.

If any other girl had done it he would have suspected her of sticking a pin through each foil-wrapped package. Because she was Casey, not only was that _not _the case but she had bought extra-strong.

If any other girl had done it, he would have thrown them back at her in a rage.

It was Casey, so he laughed at her and made crude comments till she fled blushing.

When he got back to his room, he tossed them into the drawer beside his bed, and when he ran low in his wallet, slipped a couple inside it.

The irony was he never really got to use most of them. He wasn't a saint, but he was more picky than she gave him credit for.

Casey dated a bit. But, the sorts of guys she met were those on her ("girly") courses and in the library. Those who were interested in her were bookish, and, in Derek's opinion, rather nerdy. (Yes he met all of them). And whilst Casey liked the idea of a poetry-reading, sensitive guy for a boyfriend, finding one who could actually hold a conversation and didn't run to his mother every five minutes was rather difficult. At school you meet a collection of different personalities. At college, if you don't join clubs and socialise you meet a selection of people limited by their choice of subjects. Whilst Casey belonged to clubs, they were dance-related and predominantly female. So she had spent most of college so far in a dating slump.

This Christmas she made sure she had the inevitable "so…any cute guys?" conversation with her mom well away from Derek.

* * *

Christmas was surprisingly peaceful, and everyone was almost shocked when Derek and Casey exchanged thoughtful and useful gifts. And when the family retired to bed on Christmas Day stuffed full of Christmas food and drink, Casey paused at Derek's room before entering her own. She knocked and waited.

"I'm sleeping!" He shouted back through the door. She heard the murmur of a television and the rustle of a potato chip bag.

She opened the door and went in, closing the door behind her.

"Knock, much?" He commented. "You realise that is dangerous, Casey. I'm a young virile man with _needs._ I could have been sharing an intimate moment with Miss November."

Casey frowned and then her eyes widened as she realised what he meant.

"Ew! Derek!"

Her step-brother chuckled and waved a hand at his fully clothed body.

"Don't worry I'm decent."

"That, as ever brother dearest, is debatable. Don't you get enough of…that…at college?" She asked.

"That? Oh you mean sex?" He sniffed. "Sadly not."

"You'll run out of girls soon." She stated. "You must have dated most of Kingston by now. Is that your plan? Date them all before graduation?"

Derek smirked at her. "All of them?" He commented pointedly and waited for her to catch up.

"All of the _available_ ones." She clarified.

He chuckled and offered her the bag of chips. "Want some?"

"Please tell me you are talking about the food."

He smirked at her. "Casey, I'm not _that_ desperate!"

She smacked him hard on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Moron!" she said, climbing up on the bed beside him. He looked at her in astonishment.

"I offered you potato chips, I did not offer you my company."

"Tough!" She announced. "I've wanted to watch this film for a while."

"Total Recall? Since when did you become an Arnie fan?"

"We discussed it in one of my seminars. I hadn't seen it, so it was a bit confusing."

"Well watching it won't help. It's that sort of film."

"Oh." She started to climb off the bed. Derek put a hand on her arm.

"Since when have you taken my word for anything? Stay." His gaze was intense all of a sudden. Casey was thoughtful for a moment, and then shifted back onto the bed.

They weren't friends, but they had definitely reached an…accommodation. They could spend time together and sometimes they even managed that without fighting!

* * *

"Two hot chocolates with those little mallow things and plenty of cream." Derek said to the battleaxe behind the counter of the café. In a city full of students, he wondered how he and Casey managed to frequent the only place in town staffed by extras from "My Night with a Zombie."

Then he remembered. Casey found this place. She had said something about the hot chocolate being good.

He grinned. Somehow he thought it had more to do with her wanting to have a fighting chance of keeping his attention on their conversation whenever they met for coffee. A hot waitress would not have achieved that.

She shouldn't worry though. Once they were in the middle of one of their fights an earthquake could happen and neither of them would notice.

He found a seat by the window, placed the drinks on the table and after he had removed his coat, sat down.

Casey came through the door shortly afterwards. He could tell something was up, immediately. She had pink cheeks, her hair was all over the place and her eyes sparkled. The part of his mind hard-wired to his groin wondered if that would be what Casey would look like after mind-blowing sex. The part of his mind hard-wired to the snarky switch announced that no one would ever know, because the only guys Casey would allow anywhere near her like _that_ would be little dweeby nerds who wouldn't know a female orgasm if it reached up and grabbed them in the…

"Der-ek! Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry. Miles away."

Casey had removed her coat and sat down.

"What's her name?"

He frowned.

"Oh come on Derek. I know that look. You were thinking dirty thoughts about some poor girl who really should know better."

He smirked. Probably not a good idea to reveal that it was _her_ he was having dirty thoughts about.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Derek didn't think of Casey as a girl. You would also be wrong. He knew she was. He saw physical proof she was every day when they lived at home. Every now and then, yeah, he thought dirty things about her.

He never did anything with it though. Thoughts are one thing, whacking off to your step-sister, was something else entirely.

"You gonna spill the beans or are we going to talk about my sex life?"

"What?"

"You. I can sense the whole, "Oh my god something awesome just happened" thing from here."

Casey considered getting into an argument with him, but on reflection, decided she couldn't wait.

"I'm going to New York…tonight!"

"Oh?" Derek said cautiously.

"Dad was really sorry that Lizzie and I didn't get to spend Christmas with him, so he wants us to go this weekend…tonight."

"Don't you have a dance class or something? It's Friday night."

"Derek. I have a ticket for New York waiting for me at the airport. Do you seriously expect me to choose my dance class over that?"

No. And being honest, neither would he.

"Cool. So Dennis finally delivered."

Casey was giddy. And much as her innocence irritated him at times, her child-like enthusiasm was rather endearing, so long as it wasn't putting him out.

"I need to be at the airport for five." She said expectantly.

"And that interests me because…?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Der-bear…" she said.

"Alright fuck! I'll run you to the airport, just don't call me _that_!"

* * *

Seven hours later and they are at the airport.

"Well this time, you actually checked in." Derek stated.

"Derek, please." She pleaded, and he knew he'd hit a nerve.

He sighed. "Casey. Just don't…I don't know…build yourself up over this, okay. You realise it will probably be you and Lizzie stuck in the apartment all weekend on your own, don't you?"

"Not necessarily." She said, pleading with him to agree with her. "He's promised."

"Casey…" Derek started. Then Casey realised she had a half hour till boarding.

"Derek I've got to go. We'll be boarding in half an hour."

He shook his head in amazement and without thinking pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead.

"You never fucking change." He murmured.

Casey looked up at him.

"You swear too much."

"You don't swear enough."

"Moron."  
"Lamebrain." He paused. "Promise me I won't get a stupid phone call from you in tears."

"He'll deliver, Derek. I'm sure of it."

"Yeah. But will it be this weekend?"

"Der-ek…" Casey was frustrated with him. But as he pushed her from him and through to security, she clearly heard him say, "If…sorry…when you call me, make sure it's a decent hour."


	5. Arrivals and Rivals

Casey met Lizzie in the baggage hall at JFK, relieved that their flights had arrived at such similar times. Lizzie had been experimenting with hair dye again and it was now a deep red brown colour which, closer to her natural colour was more appropriate for school, in Casey's opinion.

"Hi Sis!" Lizzie greeted her with a tight hug.

"Hi Liz. Nice hair!"

"You like it? I wanted something a bit more dramatic, but mom talked me out of it." She grinned at her elder sister. "Can you believe we're really here?"

"I know. I've got _so_ many plans! Central Park, a Broadway show, museums…"

Lizzie laughed. "I'm sure we'll only have time for a third of what you've got planned, but I can't wait. Let's get our bags and go find Dad!"

The two girls made for their respective carousels and waited for the beep that would tell them their bags were on the way. Casey's bag arrived first, and she was standing waiting for Lizzie when her cell phone vibrated against her hip.

**D: You there yet?**

Derek.

**C: Yes. Just met Liz. This is unbelievable!**

**D: Is Dennis there?**

**C: Not got through security yet.**

There was another beep and a text from **Dad Mob**. Casey opened the message cautiously. She was as wary of his attendance as Derek.

**Den: I'm here. Where are you?**

She smiled.

**C: Baggage reclaim. See you in ten.**

Then she opened a new text to Derek.

**C: He's here. Stand down Venturi.**

The beep came almost immediately.

**D: Good. Say hi to Dennis for me…if he remembers me.**

Casey chuckled. **He remembers you. I will. Thanx D.**

Lizzie approached dragging her bag as Derek's final text arrived.

**D: Have fun. I haven't got lectures first thing Monday.**

Casey frowned at the last part until she remembered that early Monday was when she was due to return to Kingston. It was Derek's way of telling her he would pick her up from the airport.

**C: Thanks. Will text you Monday when I'm boarding.** **Have a good weekend. X**

When Lizzie approached, Casey was smiling to herself at how Derek could occasionally manage a mature conversation these days.

Before long they were passing through security, pressing their thumbs onto the little digital fingerprint readers and then progressing on into the arrivals hall. Lizzie spotted Dennis immediately and threw herself at him. Casey wasn't far behind.

"Dad!" They squealed and Dennis gave them an abashed look, catching the flying women in his arms and narrowly avoiding toppling backwards with the force of their momentum. Unseen by his two children, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of them in his arms for the first time in a long time.

Just recently, it was a sensation he had wondered if he would live to feel again.

Life with Dennis had been a little turbulent lately and he knew it was going to get worse. He had allowed himself the luxury of seeing his girls this weekend, because of what might lay in the close future. He knew he didn't see them often enough, and he told himself that one day he would rectify that.

If he lived that long.

* * *

New York was everything that Casey had expected and so much more.

The three McDonalds had quickly left the terminal building and joined the queue for the yellow cabs, Dennis waving away the cab sentinel when he asked them where they were going in order to advise them of the correct fare.

"It's okay. I'm local." Dennis had smiled. The guy nodded and moved on to the next person in the queue as Dennis held the door for his daughters.

The cab journey was just as exciting to Casey and Lizzie as a guided tour. It was dark outside and Casey had long thought that it was the best way to approach her father's city, lit up as it was. She was disoriented so it wasn't until she was well into the city that she started to recognise places without her father's help.

Eventually, they pulled up at her father's apartment building, paid the cab off and taking their bags, went inside. The concierge greeted their father cheerfully and was introduced to Dennis' two "ladies" who blushed at the proud comments from their father and the praise from the older doorman.

It wasn't until they were in the smart, well-appointed apartment that Casey truly looked at her father. Maybe it was the bright artificial light in his kitchen, or maybe he had had a long day. But Casey's father had grown very old.

She said nothing, but for the rest of the evening, while they ate Chinese take out and caught up on the events in London, Kingston and New York, Casey watched her dad. She saw the shadows beneath his eyes, deep and purple. She noted the wrinkles etched into his forehead. She noted the way his clothes hung from his frame as though it had been a while since he had eaten a square meal. He looked older than his 45 years. He looked ill.

When Lizzie had gone to bed and Casey had promised to follow shortly, she confronted her father, sitting as he was in the living room.

"Dad? Is everything okay? You seem…distracted."  
Dennis froze. There was no other way to describe his behaviour and even if Casey hadn't noticed the other signs that something was wrong, the way he reacted to her question was sign enough.

"I'm…rather busy at work at the moment." He tried as a means of explanation. Casey accepted reluctantly. Her father was always busy at work – usually too busy to have them come to stay.

"Dad. You should have said. We didn't need to come this weekend." She gushed.

Dennis smiled weakly. "Casey, honey, I want you both here. Things are going to get worse before they get better. I wasn't sure when I would be able to see you again."

Casey sighed and let him pull her into the circle of his arms. She ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Is it a bad court case?" She asked.

Dennis said nothing for a moment. He couldn't tell Casey the truth, it would scare her, and he didn't want that. He also didn't want his daughters or their mother to know about the types of things he dealt with in his job. They lived a fairly sheltered life, somewhat divorced from the harsh realities that were some people's lives. They were divorced from it because he was divorced from Nora. It wasn't the reason the marriage had ended, but it had definitely been one of the all too few positive outcomes of the decree absolute. Casey, Lizzie and Nora could now live in their world of love, no longer at risk of being touched by his world of hate.

Was it a bad court case?

If only it was that simple. The case was still a long way from court, if it ever reached there.

For the first time in his life, Dennis deliberately lied to his daughter…and nodded.

* * *

Later, in bed, Casey thought about her father's manner and behaviour that night. She knew he was hiding something. She wasn't entirely sure that she understood _how_ she knew. Maybe it was because she was used to living with one of the most deceptive beings on the planet; she was used to Derek's smoke and mirrors. So much so, that it was pointless him putting up and act any more because she always saw right through it.

She wasn't used to seeing the same behaviour from her father. It took her a long time to get to sleep in the little room she was sharing with Lizzie. Her father's ragged face nagged at her leaving a sense of foreboding.

She was lying back looking up at the ceiling, trying to fathom out what was wrong with her parent, when her cell phone buzzed on the night stand.

**D: You'll owe me if I pick u up.**

It was Derek replying to Casey's comment about letting him know when she was boarding on Monday so that he could come and pick her up.

**C: Something's up with dad.**

She wasn't sure why she shared this information with the annoying filial appendage she had acquired all those years ago. This was another of those unexplained Derek events that plagued her life and threw it all to kilter.

**D: Like what?**

The one thing she knew about Derek…he always listened to her. He might not do what she asked, but he always listened.

She explained as concisely as she could, limited as she was to text messages.

**C: He looks ill. Is being shifty. I'm fairly sure he just lied 2 me.**

**D: Any clues?**

**C: No. None.**

**D: Try asking him.**

**C: I did. He said it was busy at work.**

**D: Do u believe him?**

**C: Would we be discussing this if I did?**

**D: U're probably reading 2 much in2 it.**

**C: U'd think the same if u were here.**

**D: Yeah but I'm not. Don't fret until u need 2.**

**C: Yeah. U're right. I'd best go.**

**D: Keep ur phone on. I'm here if u need me.**

**C: Thanx. Night X**

**D: Night.**

Satisfied that she had finally found someone to share this with, Casey turned over and went to sleep.

* * *

In Kingston, Derek didn't have it so good. Whilst he knew that Casey was a worrywart of the first order, he knew that she should have been distracted from worrying by the excitement of finally getting to spend some quality time in New York with her father. Under the circumstances, the fact that she had noticed something was up with her father meant something was most definitely up with her father. Derek groaned. Much as he liked Dennis, the guy had a singular knack of screwing up his daughter's life. Derek had witnessed the resulting heartbreak too many times and he promised himself that if he ever found out what Dennis was up to or if Casey ended up in tears he would be paying Dennis McDonald a visit of his own to express his own disquiet.

Satisfied that he had find come up with a semi-credible plan to "help" Casey, Derek finally feel asleep – blissfully unaware that he might need to carry the plan out sooner than he thought.


	6. Lazy Sunday Morning

Dennis tried to cook breakfast for the girls the following morning. He got up early specifically to make pancakes exactly the way they liked them. He wanted them to be woken by the smell of a happy home.

But, then the phone rang and the news wasn't good, and instead of smelling something deliciously sweet, Casey and Lizzie awoke to the smell of burnt batter and the noise of banging and swearing coming from the apartment's kitchen.

Casey emerged from the bedroom first, her eyes going straight to her father's face, hoping that she had mis-read the signs in her exhaustion last night, but she was to be disappointed. This morning he seemed, if anything, much worse, his eyes now had a haunted look. Wanting to ease his concerns, Casey tried to rescue the breakfast, only to hear as her sister emerge from the bedroom yawning, that her father had ditched the homemade idea, and was now planning on treating them to a "proper" New York breakfast.

Half an hour, and a shower later, they made their way three blocks to Dennis' favourite diner for a breakfast to harden the arteries. Casey ate the saturated fat without comment, because Dennis was trying so hard. Lizzie chatted away eagerly anticipating where her father was planning to take them after the food. Neither she nor her father noticed Casey's distraction. Dennis too wrapped up in his own concerns.

As Dennis sipped his coffee, his eyes strayed often towards the door. He had made Lizzie move from her original seat because he "felt a draught" sitting with his back to the door. Lizzie had snorted and told him off for sounding like he was ancient.

Dennis smiled weakly.

Casey said nothing.

They had nearly finished eating when Casey felt her purse vibrate. Excusing herself, she made her way to the restrooms and instead of replying to Derek's **how is he?** text in kind, she dialled his number.

"Hi." She said lamely, expecting some crack about her phoning Derek unexpectedly.

"Are you okay?" The concern was audible.

"Erm…not entirely sure." She admitted. "Dad's still behaving really strangely."

"Tell me."

To herself, Casey shrugged.

"There's nothing to tell…exactly. He's jittery, falsely cheerful, but mostly it is just how he looks…like he's haunted."

Derek made a noise that sounded like a growl. _If he screws this up…_ he thought. What he said was:

"Case. You're probably making a big deal out of something that is nothing. You need to chill and enjoy spending time with him. Before you know it, it will be Monday morning and time to come home."

"Do you believe it's nothing?"

_No. Because for an innocent sometimes you are very perceptive but I'll be damned if I'm going to be the one to burst your bubble._

"Casey. I'm not there and you are ridiculously sensitive at times. Just relax and chill. Okay?"

Casey closed her eyes and blew out a breath, knowing that Derek was right.

"Okay." She said weakly.

"Right. I'm going." Derek paused. "Casey…you need me you call, okay?"

"What if it's late at night?" She sounded younger than normal.

"I don't have opening hours." He retorted trying to lighten the mood.

"Of course you do, Derek. I've seen you react when someone calls you before ten on a weekend."

"Not for this." He stated honestly. "Casey. I'm here, okay? You need me, call. Now clear off and let me go back to sleep."  
And that was when she realised it _was_ a weekend, and he had texted her at 8.15am.

* * *

That Saturday was a good day. They went to museums, saw monuments, and ate stupid amounts of nutritionally unbalanced food. Casey and Lizzie loved every minute of it. But though Dennis tried, Casey knew things weren't right. There were the physical signs of course: tired eyes, loss of weight and so on, but there was also the behavioural signs: the shifty eyes and bizarre requests he made of his daughters: needing to sit in certain seats, strange phone-calls and never staying in one place for more than half an hour.

.

It wasn't until the early evening that she started to see to what degree things were off. A neighbour came around to leave a message and Dennis reacted to the doorbell as if he'd heard a gun shot.

"Dad?" Casey asked cornering him in the kitchen at a moment when she knew Lizzie was out of the room.

Dennis started to trawl out the same old spiel he had used so far this weekend, and then he actually _looked_ at his daughter. Her eyes were hard and one eyebrow was arched. It was an intimidating pose as well it should be. Casey used it often enough on Derek. Her father sighed and his shoulders slumped.

"There's something big hitting at work. It's not at all pleasant and it's going to mean I'm…absent for a while. I wanted to see you and your sister before I…left. I thought I had time, but it seems it's going to hit sooner than I thought."

The hardness had gone from Casey's manner before he even finished speaking.

"Do you want us to go home tomorrow?" She asked in a small voice, cursing Derek yet again for being right. Dennis shook his head.

"No. One more day will not hurt."

.

In the shit that followed, that phrase would haunt her.

.

They were going out to dinner that night, so all three of them retired to their rooms to get ready. Of course Liz and Casey were sharing, so Casey let her sister use the bathroom first while she chose her clothes…and phoned Derek.

Derek listened again to her mumblings and his sense of unease increased. It was far worse than he had thought. His early suspicions had been that Dennis would blow off the weekend and get called into work.

What concerned Derek was that it appeared to him, linking dots that by contrast Casey couldn't yet see, Dennis had done something far, far worse.

He had brought his work home with him.

And that left Derek only one choice.

* * *

Sunday again dawned sunny and they decided to spend it in Central Park. They breakfasted at the apartment because this time Casey insisted on cooking. Once showered and dressed they left for the subway.

Dennis was still distracted, but when Casey looked at him, he made an effort to smile and he squeezed her hand as they rode the elevator down the foyer of his apartment block.

And then the phone rang and Dennis dropped her hand, and took the call, motioning for the girls to walk a head of him, shouting directions to them as they walked, his hand cupped over the receiver.

"Out the door and turn right. Three blocks up there's a subway entrance. I'm right behind you."

Lizzie chatted happily to Casey as she walked. They were discussing the things they had seen the day before. There was a fair amount of giggling because at one point Lizzie had caught the eye of a fellow museum visitor, and Casey liked the fact that her sister blushed when it was discussed. Normally, Lizzie was uninterested when it came to matters of the heart.

.

They were laughing about Lizzie's admirer's taste in clothes when it happened.

.

Casey and Lizzie were walking side by side on the wide sidewalk, Dennis following along behind, his attention still drawn to the cell phone in his hand. Casey's mind absorbed the sights and sounds of the Big Apple as she walked: the flashes of yellow as cabs flew past her, the crowds of people at the crosswalks, the sirens in the distance. Eventually, up ahead, she saw the subway sign and looking down the steps leading down. She turned and grinned at her father and he looked up distractedly at her. Casey frowned and looked to see if her sister was as concerned about their father's behaviour as she was.

Lizzie had chose a vivid red coat yesterday when they were in Macy's, and to be honest Casey really couldn't blame her. The bright colour suited the pretty brunette next to her. Lizzie had grown into an attractive young woman, and though she would never be as "girly" as Casey, the sisters were very close. Casey smiled…and then frowned, as a short, large man in a brown overcoat came pushing through the crowded sidewalk just as the McDonalds reach the entrance to the subway. The crush of people made walking difficult, so Casey would have put the whole incident down to an accident, but for the fact she saw his face and hands as he shoved Lizzie hard and she toppled down the steps. Casey cried out and reached for her, but their hands missed each other and Casey watched helplessly as the girl tumbled forward head first down the steep stone steps.

For an eerie moment, everything stopped. Complete strangers who should have no dealings with their family were suddenly caught up in the tableau in front of Casey. She found her mouth open, but no scream came out. She turned to call her father, and saw a flash of brown overcoat disappearing into the crowd. Casey watched as her father moved in slow motion, his cell dropping from his hand and a look of horror on his face. Awakened to the fact this had happened to her sister, she darted down the steps to the lifeless form of her companion. She heard screaming, but it wasn't coming from Casey. It was coming from up above where a myriad of faces were suddenly looking at her, and she felt herself sink to the ground.

* * *

It took six EMTs and four burly members of New York's finest to pull the crowds back from the entrance to the subway to recover the lifeless forms of Casey and Lizzie. And all the while, their father stood motionless, staring at the grotesque sight before him. There was so much blood.

After a few moments however, one of the two bodies started to recover, and when they had sat the distraught father in the back of one ambulance to treat him for shock and a severe pain in his chest, they lifted the more alert of the two girls into the second ambulance. Lizzie was not yet stable enough to be moved. Dennis screamed at them to help her, and they calmly told him they were doing all they could, that she was still alive for the moment and to let them get on with their job.

He clamped his mouth shut and tore his eyes from the one daughter to look at the other.

Casey was now conscious and being violently sick.

Eventually, two of the three ambulance were closed up and one of the most characteristic sounds of New York filled the air: A braying siren.

The female EMT in Casey's ambulance started to take personal details from her. She gave her name, age, nationality and occupation like an automaton, her mind still on the subway steps with her sister.

"I know your father is in one of the other ambulances." The EMT said. "Would you like me to get the hospital to call your mom?" Casey nodded and then said quietly. "Can I use my cell?"

The EMT paused, and seeing the look on the young woman's face relented because they weren't actually using anything that would be affected by the device. She nodded.

"Just don't be too long. It's not really protocol."

Casey slid her cell from her bad and dialled Derek's cell phone. She didn't even let him speak when he answered.

"Lizzie's seriously hurt. I need you."


	7. Fleet of Foot and Will of Iron

The journey to the hospital took less than ten minutes but to Casey it seemed like forever. Casey was still woozy from fainting and though she had been sick only once, the rocking and rolling of the emergency vehicle was making her nauseous again. She wanted to see her father.

She wanted to see Lizzie.

Casey shook her head trying to clear it, but all she could see clearly was the vision of her younger sister lying broken on the steps below her, and a large pool of blood.

Later, in the weeks that followed, she would wonder why her instinct had been to call Derek. Given the chance to phone, she had just dialled his number and said the words, barely registering his "Where are you? I'm coming."

The hospital was a mass of people when she arrived, and though she had never been admitted to hospital herself via an ambulance, she had twice ridden with friends. Once had been when her roommate had a severe asthma attack, and once when a friend at a party had been given a spiked drink. Fortunately, both times the ambulance ride was precautionary. Casey had managed to find her roommate's emergency inhaler quickly enough, and the party girl had been with good decent friends, including Casey who realised something was wrong before she could be separated from her group.

So Casey had arrived at an ER entrance by ambulance before. She had previously seen the organised chaos of slamming doors, gurneys and orderlies, and green scrubbed ER medics.

On neither of the previous two occasions had Casey been met at the hospital entrance by the FBI.

* * *

"Miss McDonald?" A well-built guy with a plastic earpiece approached her bearing a badge. He stood to one side as she was helped from the back of the ambulance.

"My name is Agent Aaron Marshall. I'm with the FBI. As soon as the medics have finished with you, I'll be needing to ask you some questions. Okay?"  
Casey looked at him in panic. "Questions?"

"Yes."

"My sister…My dad…?" She looked around desperately for the rest of her family. Even in her distressed state she knew she shouldn't talk to the FBI without an attorney present. Where was her Dad?

"Your Dad will be here shortly, and your sister is receiving the best care possible. We'll be able to tell you more when the medical team have checked you over."

"There's nothing wrong with me!" She shouted suddenly. "I wasn't the one that…fell." Her voice trailed away as her mind filled with the images of Lizzie covered in blood.

"You fainted. They need to check you out. Your Dad is being brought in as we speak and your mom is on her way from Canada too." A white-coated doctor gave him a pointed look, and he stepped away to allow them to lower her to the ground. Relieved to have a moment to think, Casey closed her eyes and let them wheel her through into a curtained bay.

What followed then was a series of minor tests and major questions. Everyone was kind and sympathetic as though they all knew that her sister was fighting for her life on the steps of a New York Subway. But there was also a strained air about their sympathy as though she was different than the usual people they had in here. At one point, a junior doctor entered the curtain, pulling it to one side more than anyone else had, and Casey caught a glimpse of a uniformed police officer standing outside her bay, holding a very big, very dangerous-looking gun.

After half an hour, she was pronounced as fit as someone with shock could be, and told that in a moment she would be discharged into the care of the FBI. Casey had no idea what that meant, but it didn't sound good.

There was still no sign of Lizzie, although she had been told that Dennis was in the same ER. They were testing him for heart problems. Apparently, there had been an abnormality in his readings when they monitored him in the ambulance.

Casey felt small and insignificant, and she also felt impotent. She was healthy and she could do nothing to help her little sister.

Why Lizzie?

She knew that the actions she had witnessed had been deliberate and Lizzie had been singled out. The question was why?

She was interrupted from her contemplation of this question by the sound of shouting and a scuffle breaking out the other side of her curtain.

"FBI? I don't fucking care if you're the President of the United States. I'm going in there whether you like it or not. And you can take your pop gun and stick it where the sun doesn't shine, because nobody is keeping me away from my fucking step-sister!"

Derek? Holy Something or other (Casey wouldn't allow herself to swear)! How the hell did Derek manage to get from Kingston to New York in less than an hour? Before she could ponder this too much, the curtain billowed and said step-brother appeared looking irate with a completely frazzled guard hot on his heels. Derek said nothing, just closed the distance between himself and the bed and then pulled Casey into his arms.

"Fuck Case! I'm so sorry." He muttered into her neck.

Casey burst into tears.

* * *

Now that he was in the cubicle, the guard decided Derek could stay so he pulled up a chair and not letting go of her hand, sat beside her to catch up.

"How the hell did you get here so quickly?" Casey gasped, wiping tears from her cheeks. Derek looked uncomfortable and scratched the back of his neck.

"I…erm…was already in New York." He admitted cautiously.

"Why?"

"Gut-ache." He said quietly.

"What on earth do your digestive problems have to do with you being in New York?"

Derek sighed. "I didn't like what you were telling me on the phone the last couple of days. I got a bad feeling about it. So I caught a plane this morning. I had just landed when you called.

She stared at him in disbelief.

"Stalker, much!" She said eventually, but when he looked up into her eyes there was a softness he had never seen before and he thanked god for his instincts. "Thank you." She added.

"I spoke to Dad." Derek told her. "They've given Marti and Robbie to Mom for the time being. Nora, Dad and Edwin are on their way here. Apparently, your dad isn't having a heart attack but they think he needs a night in here to recover. Lizzie, the last I heard, is now stable enough for them to move her, but they are nervous about her injuries. They are worried she won't make the journey."

"Mom knew all that?" Casey asked quietly, surprised at how soft his hands were on hers. Derek smirked.

"No. I sweet-talked the girl on reception."

Casey groaned and leaned back on the bed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Hey! Don't knock the Venturi charm! It has its uses."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"What on earth am I going to do with you?" She asked, but even Derek recognised the affection in her voice and he coughed loudly to cover his embarrassment. Casey frowned. "Did you seriously just take on an FBI goon with a gun?"  
Derek chuckled. "The guy outside? No. He's NYPD and," he leaned close to her "doesn't have two brain cells to rub together. It took him a lifetime to remember he was carrying a gun. Remind me to kick butt over their "protection" detail when we get to see the head honcho. It stinks."

"Protection detail? Who are they protecting?" Casey asked, confused.

"You, brainiac. They're here to protect you." Derek watched as the mist cleared from Casey's eyes. She had seriously thought she was going to be arrested. That much was evident from the look on her face. He wondered what on earth Casey thought she had done that warranted an armed police guard and the myriad of suits milling around outside.

"Why would the FBI want to protect me?"

Derek frowned. "That, princess is the million dollar question."

* * *

After another ten minutes or so, they moved Casey to a private room elsewhere in the hospital, stating that she needed to remain in the hospital and that she would join her father soon. The journey from the ER to the floor with the private suites made it abundantly clear that Casey was indeed under police protection rather than in trouble. Three "suits" came into her cubicle and spoke rapidly into lapel mikes about areas being "clear" and having "eyes" on stairwells, and securing "zones". Casey thought it was like something out of Sue Thomas and almost looked for the dog. Derek kept looking for Jack Bauer.

They let her walk to the new room, and she did so holding Derek's hand but neither of them noticed. He walked with his rucksack slung over his shoulder, feeling very young and power-less. The new room was in a secure section of the hospital behind doors with keypads. As they walked the corridors, Derek tried peeking through glass door panels looked for patients in strait-jackets. But there were none.

Finally, they reached a room at the end of the corridor and after one of the agents did a final scout, they were again left alone.

The room had the normal hospital bed in it, a comfortable sofa and a couple of more upright chairs. There was a TV in the corner and a door leading to a bathroom. The view looked over the city, but the agent had closed the blinds before he left and cautioned against opening them.

"We're on the fifteenth goddamn floor!" Derek complained when the door had closed behind him. "What on earth does he think is gonna happen? Someone shimmies up the drainpipe?"

Casey looked up at the sound of the anger in his voice. "I saw this episode of Diagnosis Murder once where a sniper shot someone through the hospital window." She said quietly.

"Jesus Casey! You believe everything you see on the Hallmark channel?"

"What's got you so irate all of a sudden?" She retorted. "It's _my_ sister! And you didn't have to come here."

Derek sighed rather than retaliate. "She's my sister too, sweetheart." He said softly. "And I'm sorry about the cursing. It's just…you know me and authority figures. The sight of all those "Numbers" extras sets my teeth on edge."

"Bloody hell! [the situation warranted a curse] I think I might pass out again. Derek just apologised!"

They looked at each other for a moment and then grinned.

"Where _is_ dad?" it hadn't escaped Casey's notice that Agent Marshall hadn't materialised yet either. Obviously, they were lower priority than her dad.

"He'll be here. What I really want to know is how Liz is doing." Derek frowned. "No. Screw that. What I really want to know is what exactly happened!"

Casey sat on the sofa, patted the space beside her and Derek joined her.

"I don't really know. One minute the three of us were walking along the sidewalk and then the next some guy was shoving Lizzie really hard. I saw him do it and I was powerless to stop him touching her…or Lizzie from falling. She tumbled head first down the steps. I remember looking down on her lying there and that's when I passed out. Fortunately, I didn't fall as well."

"Where was Dennis?"

"Directly behind me. He was on his cell phone."

"Talking to who?"  
"I don't know. He didn't say but it was another of those weird calls where he was hiding something."  
Derek leaned his head back against the wall and regarded the ceiling.

"Yeah well he's not going to hide anything when I get to him." He said ominously, then he caught Casey's look and, worried about being caught being "affectionate" added. "I had a date planned for tonight."

* * *

It was actually another two hours before they heard anything more from the FBI. And in that time, came lunch. The door opened long enough for another "extra" to leave a tray with two steak sandwiches and cans of coke on it.

Casey ate because her stomach growled but not because she felt hungry. Derek was always hungry, even when he was desperately worried about his little step-sister.

As he ate, he watched Casey and wondered what it was about the girl before him that meant the "step-sister" label sat so uneasily on her shoulders.

They had barely finished eating when the door opened and Dennis was wheeled in, closely followed by Nora, George and Edwin.

"At fucking last!" Derek exclaimed, and even in their terror of the situation, he received a frown from his father.

* * *

**AN: Okay. Chance here for someone to tell me how you can link Sue Thomas and LWD in two steps. It's really obvious.**


	8. Explanations

When Nora, Dennis and the Venturis entered the room they got an unexpected sight. Derek and Casey had finished eating and were now turned towards each other on the sofa, heads close together, and their fingers linked. It wasn't a conscious positioning, they weren't aware they were so close or holding hands, but to the casual observer it spoke volumes.

The truth was it was more that which had George frowning than Derek's vernacular.

"Mom!" Casey exclaimed, ripping her hand from Derek's in the flight across the room and into the arms of her mother, a woman who looked completely spent. Her eyes were red and raw, and her own hand was clasped firmly in that of her husband's until Casey's body hit her.

"Casey darling. My God!" was all she could say, her fingers finding her daughter's form grateful to be holding one daughter at least - and the men in the room looked away.

Derek stood then, wondering why his hand was stinging, and approached the family group.

"An explanation would be nice." He said pointedly. Dennis nodded.

As they all moved further into the room, Derek looked at Edwin well aware that _his_ best friend was currently downstairs in goodness knows what state.

"How is she?" Derek asked his brother.

"Alive, apparently." Edwin said, looking for all the world as though he was the eldest person in the room.

"Will she pull through?" Derek spoke the words that Casey couldn't ask, but he did it for himself as much as his step-sister.

"They don't know yet. She's done well to last."

"Ed…"

"Do you mind, D? I can't right now."

There was something in Edwin's eyes that struck a cord with Derek and as he nodded and walked across to perch on the bed, he wondered if this was the state he would be in if it had been Casey who had been pushed down the stairs. It had always been thus: Lizzie and Edwin, Derek and Casey.

Casey and Nora made their way to the couch, still clinging together. Edwin joined his father and Derek on the bed, and Dennis who was propelling himself along in a wheelchair stopped somewhere between the two.

"We need to talk." Casey's father said.

Five pairs of eyes swivelled towards him in disbelief, but it was Edwin who voiced what they were all thinking.

"No shit!"

Dennis closed his eyes.

* * *

"Three years ago," Dennis began. "A new client came into my office. He had been recommended by a CEO of a large conglomerate I had dealt with in the past. The new guy, let's call him Steve, was a billionaire making his name in the restaurant trade. He informed me that he had had some problems with his previous representation and needed new counsel. The normal background checks came back clear on both sides and within a month he was confirmed on my books.

He kept me busy. He owned many businesses and it turned out, was involved in a lot of other business interests, but for the first two years there was nothing to cause me concern. Then about a year ago, one of my paralegals brought a discrepancy to my attention and it was serious enough that I had to raise it with my client." Dennis looked uncomfortable.

"Until this point, I had always trusted the guy because he had levelled with me, but when I confronted him about this transaction, he lied. I cautioned him about keeping things from me, and he looked at me strangely and muttered something about "sleeping with the fishes".

Derek, George and Edwin looked up. The reference was lost on the women.

Dennis nodded. "I know, I know. I thought the guy was joking too. Until more of the work we were dealing with started to come unstuck and I was forced to confront him again." He ran his fingers through his hair. "This time, he told me to keep my mouth shut or "the family" would get me."

Dennis took a breath. "About six months ago, I realised this guy definitely had a screw loose and started to make arrangements to withdraw as his counsel. That's when I discovered two things. Firstly, that he really _was_ a part of the mob, and secondly that his "problem" with his counsel was that the poor guy was fished out of the Hudson weighed down with a cinder block."

He ignored the collective gasp that ran around the room.

"I'm honest. I maybe a lot of things, but I'm honest. And over the years I've picked up a few friends in law enforcement in this country. So I called in a favour and started to speak to the FBI. They convinced me to keep going with the client relationship to see what info I could pick up. For four months, I behaved as normal, gathering evidence and feeding it back. About two months ago, a casual remark by one of my senior staff alerted the client to the fact that something was going on. With that he took off, and I haven't seen him since.

However, the FBI wanted to carry on pursuing him, so I agreed to help them go through the information I had." He turned apologetically to Nora. "I had to, honey." He told his ex-wife. "I chose this career to do good not to run at the first sign of trouble."

She nodded. "I know Dennis. I know. "

"Anyway, we started to plan for a potential trial. It started to take up all my days and nights. I missed Halloween, I missed Christmas…birthdays. Then last week it occurred to me that this could all end badly, that I would either die in the process or have to go into hiding."

Casey gasped and Nora tightened her grip on her.

"I needed to spend time with the girls before I lost everything."

Edwin stood up. "So let me get this straight, asshole. You brought your daughters to New York so that you could spend time with them _knowing_ that the guy _you_ were about to put away was a) a member of the mob b) insane c) seriously pissed with you!"

"Edwin!" George reprimanded, but Derek knew his father and he knew that clenched-jaw look. Evidently there were three Venturis in the room ready to explain to Dennis exactly what they thought of his decision to bring Casey and Lizzie into his world. He glanced at Nora…correction, make that _four_ Venturis.

"Let me get this straight." Nora said, letting go of Casey and crossing to her ex-husband. "You put our daughters in danger to make up for _your_ failings as a father!"

She was leaning over him now, and it was the first time he had seen a grown man cower like that.

"No…No…!" He insisted. "This was all secret. No one knew about my dissatisfaction with Steve or my involvement with the FBI. We did a risk assessment of the situation and it was deemed safe."

Nora's jaw dropped.

"'risk assessment'? 'deemed safe'? Jesus, Dennis! What sort of idiot are you?"

Derek blinked at Nora's uncharacteristic curse words  
"Mom." Casey cautioned. "This isn't helping Lizzie."

"No." Edwin chipped in. "But it's doing me the fucking world of good!"

Derek struggled to hide a smirk. George raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to add your view, Derek?"

His son shook his head, fixing Dennis with a determined look.

"Why not, son? He put your step-sister in danger." Derek knew that George wasn't talking about Lizzie.

"Yes. But, Edwin and Nora are doing a pretty good job of it. I'll finish up if there are any leftovers." As much as his fists were itching to express his "feelings", he knew Casey would never forgive him if he beat the crap out of her beloved father.

He wondered why that mattered.

"What were the phone calls about, Dad?" Casey asked quietly.

"My FBI handler. They told me they suspected there was a leak in their department and that Steve was aware of what was going on. But by that time, you were already here. I could have sent you away, but I didn't want to hurt you again."  
"You could have been honest with me." She countered.

"I know and I should have been."

Casey looked thoughtful. "Why Lizzie? Why not me?"

Dennis sighed. "I don't know. I can't lose either of you, but you're right. He deliberately chose Lizzie. I guess we'll never find out."

George coughed. "Right. Well now we know why we need to talk about what happens next. We can't stay holed up in the hospital."

"I think we should get my handler in." Dennis said. "He…erm…has a suggestion."

* * *

Dennis' handler turned out to be a very large guy who looked like his mother had dallied with a bear one winter. Surprisingly he too was Canadian, and when George queried that he explained that his father was Canadian and his mother came from Seattle.

"Call me Mac." He announced as he shook hands with them. "There's no point in going down all the name rank and number crap. You're going to see a lot of me in the next few months, treat me like your brother."

Casey looked rather horrified at that thought. The guy was 6ft 5 in his socks and she felt like an ant beside him. He beamed at her.

"S'ok princess, I don't bite."

Casey threw Derek a panicked look and her step-brother grinned back with amusement. There was something about Mac that he liked.

"The long and the short of it is folks that you are all on the mob radar now and the court case is going to go ahead. Which means the whole of the family is going to need to go into hiding, including Lizzie."

There was general murmuring and then Casey spoke.

"I can't do it. I need to graduate."

Derek nodded. "Me too."

Edwin agreed. "I need to finish school…so does Liz." Casey smiled gratefully at her younger brother, happy that he talked about Lizzie as if she was going to get better.

"Guys…do I need to remind you, someone tried to kill your sister today. You are all in danger."

"What about my work? And Nora's? And we've left the two youngest with my ex-wife. Are the three of them in danger?"

Mac sighed. "Until we find out to contrary, we're going to have to assume you all are. Your ex-wife will probably be okay once she returns the children."

"Can't they stay with her?" Nora asked, desperate that someone in the family remain safe.

"No. They will try and get to Dennis through you. The children are leverage."

Derek watched the colour drain from his step-mom's face.

"George. They are on their own now!"

Mac pulled a cell from his pocket. "Give me their address."

He spoke rapidly into the phone giving orders and directions.

"Nah. Go through my contact in Toronto. I don't want to get mixed up in CSIS shit with this one. I want someone I trust. Okay…speak to you soon."

He hung up to find George looking at him questioningly.

"Mounties. I know someone." Mac said in answer to the question.

"Bob Childs?" George asked.

Mac looked astonished. "You know Bob?"

George nodded. "He's Derek's godfather."

Derek was taken aback. He'd never heard of Bob Childs. George shrugged.

"It's a long story. But Bob's a good guy and Abby knows him."

Mac picked up the cell again. "Angelo? Tell Bob he might want to handle it personally. He knows the family."

George meanwhile had also pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Abs. It's me. No…nothing yet. I know. How are the kids? Erm…now's not a good time. Tell Marti I'll call her later and tell her they are doing all they can for Liz. Abby, the reason I'm calling…there's complications. I'll explain more later but you're going to get a knock on the door soon from Bob Childs. Yeah. I know. Listen. He's going to be there in his professional capacity…Abby, calm down, okay? Let him in and do whatever he suggests. I'm sorry honey. It stinks but we've got to do it, okay? It's for the children's safety…and your own. I know. It seems we weren't in full possession of the facts." He looked across at Dennis with a pained expression. "I'll call you soon…okay?"

Derek listened to the one-sided conversation in amazement. His parents had a good relationship now, but it had been many years since he had heard his father call his mother "honey". With a maturity he didn't know he possessed he knew it was to reassured her. George was now pulling Nora into his arms and kissing her on the temple, lovingly.

"We'll get this sorted, my love. I promise. We'll get Lizzie and everyone home as soon as we can."

Derek looked across at Casey and she met his gaze. Unspoken they wondered together how long it would be before that were indeed the case.


	9. Cosa Nostra

Casey said goodbye to her parents reluctantly that night. Her father was still under observation for the chest pains. Her mother was remaining in the hospital to be near Lizzie. Both of them would retain an armed guard.

The three "children" and George however were removed to a "safe house" in Queens. A female FBI agent was dispatched to shop for essentials on a list that Casey provided, managing even to get her a prescription for the contraceptive pill that she took for her cycle. Writing that down in front of her step-brothers and step-father was difficult to say the least.

The others had also provided lists and shortly before seven that evening, the items were duly delivered to the safe house along with pizza, burger and fries. All in all, Casey decided she had had enough saturated fat to last her a month.

But she ate anyway.

That evening, the four of them talked about the future. Casey was adamant about two things: that she would remain near Lizzie until she got better, and that she had to graduate. All of the males in the room knew that both of those was unlikely to be possible together…hell, Casey knew it herself.

She was grateful when they didn't point it out.

"What do you think will happen?" She asked George.

"I think your mom will probably stay here for a while until a decision is made about Liz. I think the four of us will return to London to the others and I think we will all be moved somewhere else in protective custody."

"What about university?" Casey asked, speaking for both her and Derek.

"I don't know Case." George answered. "Maybe Mac will tell us tomorrow."

Tomorrow…

Tomorrow, Casey and Lizzie were supposed to have boarded flights home from New York after an enjoyable weekend with their father.

* * *

"Tomorrow" saw the four of them saying a temporary goodbye to Lizzie, Nora and Dennis and returning to Canada. It was a hard move for Casey but when Mac had explained his reasoning, she couldn't fault it and so she agreed.

But it didn't mean she was happy about it. It didn't mean that she undertook the journey with any enthusiasm. It didn't mean that there weren't tears.

It didn't mean that Derek left her side for an instant.

Lizzie for the time being appeared to be stable. Or as stable as someone with a massive head trauma could be. They were monitoring a subdural haematoma for signs of increased pressure and had warned that in the event of such they would need to operate. In the meantime, they were keeping her in an enforced coma to allow her body to repair itself.

The remaining members of the McDonald/Venturi family returned to London to the family home, much to everyone's surprise and delight. George said nothing because he knew it would be a temporary measure. The benefit was that Marti and Robbie also returned home, and after a brief visit, Derek and his blood siblings kissed their mother goodbye. By mutual consent, and for her own safety, Abby was returning to Spain.

By Tuesday, with the exception of Nora and Lizzie, the family was once again under the same roof. Unfortunately, unlike the normal situation, there was no coming and going from the busy home. The family was confined to barracks…and going stir-crazy.

When the younger children were in bed, the four older members of the family sat in the living room with Bob Childs and talked. George had spoken at length with his old friend and it appeared he had a better understanding of what would happen.

"The idea is that you will all be re-housed." Bob told them. "George will be allowed to continue his court cases via email etc and escorted to the court appearances, Nora will remain in New York until Lizzie is well enough to be moved. The rest of you will be transferred to new schools."

"And Derek and I?" Casey asked. Bob sighed.

"We are going to try and transfer you to a new college." He said. "Probably, you will be in different colleges in the States."

Derek jerked his head to look at his father.

"Different colleges?" he asked.

Bob nodded.

"Yes. It will be easier to protect you as lone people."  
Derek said nothing. Casey fiddled with a cushion from the couch.

Later, when everyone else had gone to bed and Derek was alone with his father, George spoke.

"Do you agree with this?" he asked Derek, leaning against the doorframe and watching his son. The father was aware that he was dealing with someone more mature than the average twenty one year old – even if his behaviour often belied it.

"Casey going to college on her own away from family?" Derek asked, and then snorted. "What do you think?"  
George rubbed at his own jaw. "She would have done that anyway, D. If you hadn't got the scholarship."  
"Yes. But not with some crazy ass after her idiot of a father."  
George snorted. "Don't hold back or anything." He commented.

"Oh come on. The guy's a fucking idiot. He put them in danger and it may well have killed Lizzie."

"Hush! I don't want Marti and Edwin upset."  
Derek walked into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Dad. Edwin is already upset. His best friend is in a coma. Marti has had everything she knows tipped upside down. I think worrying about upsetting the kids is rather passé, don't you?"  
George groaned and sat opposite. "I know. Family should stick together." He said after a moment. He looked at Derek expectantly.

"Don't say it dad."

George smiled and shook his head. "What else am I going to say?"  
"I don't know…maybe: Casey will be fine. She's a big girl. Just get on with living your own life?"

His father smirked. "Do you believe that?"

Derek scrubbed at his face. "Look Dad. I can cope with being on my own, you know that. The rest of you will be together, eventually. But Casey on her own…is a disaster waiting to happen."

"What do you suggest?"

Derek pulled at his hair. "I'm going to regret this, I know, but I think wherever they settle Casey, they should settle me too."

George said nothing for a moment. Then he spoke. "I agree."

"What?"

"I agree. You two should stick together."

* * *

The following morning, George and Derek explained this to Bob.

They sort of expected resistance from Derek's godfather after his comment the previous night about it being easier to protect them as individuals. But to their surprise, Bob agreed with the notion of settling the two students together, looking non-committal when they talked about possible making them full siblings – non-identical twins.

Bob stayed for just an hour, but as he left he asked to speak to Derek in private, so the latter led the older man up to his room, as it was the most private room in the house.

"You've grown." Bob said, stating the obvious. "I remember you crapping your diaper at your christening while I was holding you."

Derek smirked. "Sounds like me."

They grinned at each other.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around more Derek. My life after your birth became very career-centric and to be honest it wasn't sensible for me to hang around my friends."

Derek nodded his acknowledgement.

"Can I ask why you were suddenly so accepting of my suggestion that you settle me and Casey together?" Derek asked, cutting to the chase in a way both men appreciated.

"That's exactly why I need to talk to you." Bob said, pulling up the computer chair in Derek's room while Derek propped himself up against his headboard. "How much do you know about your father's family?"

His godson was thrown for a moment.

"I know who my grandparents are, my uncle and his family. Why?"  
"Do you know about your Italian heritage?"

Derek laughed. "What Italian heritage? You telling me my ancestors are Cosa Nostra?"

There was a silence.

Derek stared at Bob. "You are fucking kidding me!"

Bob laughed. "No. I'm not. Although your direct family have never had anything to do with the mafia, going back a couple of generations there are links."

"Fuck!" Derek narrowed his eyes. "How do you know this?"

"We found out why Lizzie and not Casey. One of the FBI's sources has told us the rationale behind the attack."

"Which is?"  
"It appears that for the most part, _your_ part of the family is safe. Although Dennis McDonald is guilty of breaking the Omerta and his family will be targeted, this only applies to the McDonalds."

Derek's eyes widened. "Why?"

Bob scratched his nose. "Although your family is inactive, there is still enough familial feeling towards the Venturi to afford you a degree of protection. According to our source the word has gone out that although the McDonald's are fair game, the Venturis are not. Needless to say we aren't taking this for granted, hence why we are still making preparations for the whole family to be taken into protective custody."

Derek frowned. "Why is Casey different?"

"There is apparently some degree of confusion amongst the Family as to whether she should be dealt with as a McDonald or a Venturi."

"Why?"  
Bob smiled. "They have been watching the two of you. You spend enough time together that they are confused about her status in your life. There is some suspicion that she is your girlfriend and therefore a potential Venturi. At the moment, it is enough to make her untouchable."

Derek was stunned.

"They think I am dating Casey and that I'll marry her? So they attacked Lizzie rather than Casey?" He laughed. "Screwy!"

Bob nodded. "But don't write it all off. If Casey being a Venturi will afford her a degree of protection…"  
Derek understood.

"But you think there is still a risk?"

"There's always a risk. For the whole family. It's a real shame that George couldn't adopt your step-sisters, but as Dennis is still alive that isn't really appropriate. We're thinking that we should settle you and Casey as a married couple rather than siblings. There are too many differences between you."  
"Married?"

"Yes."  
Strangely enough, the idea didn't seem as bizarre as Derek might have previously thought.

"How would it work?"  
"We'll find a spot for you both at colleges in the States. It's easier for the FBI to handle if there aren't any cross-border issues. We'll produce false papers for you both."

Derek shook his head. "That won't work. If they are bright enough to have been watching us in Kingston they will find us."  
"It's a risk. But we're hoping that won't happen until the court case is in progress."  
"No. You can't run on that assumption." He paused. "Casey being a Venturi would protect her?"

Bob nodded. "We think so. Why?"

"I've got an idea."


	10. A Proposal

"You are insane!" And he had to admit it was one of the few times in his life when he and Casey McDonald were in complete agreement. Unfortunately, insanity is not something you can choose anymore than you can choose to be the victim of someone else's father's lack of common sense.

Derek was currently sitting on the edge of Casey's bed while she paced the room. Her hair was wild, as were her eyes and he knew that any minute now she was going to unleash one of those tempestuous torrents of emotion that he knew and…ahem…_liked_ her for. He just wasn't sure if it was going to manifest itself as tears or a right hook to rival Tyson.

Knowing his step-sister he'd go with Tyson.

* * *

His explanation of his idea to Bob Childs had been short. He had told Bob he would marry Casey.

And yes.

He was insane.

He told himself he was insane with love for his family and the knowledge of what it would do to them should they lose Casey and Lizzie. His family wasn't perfect but it was perfect for him. He loved how Edwin, the loner had found a partner in crime. He loved how Marti was growing up with two doting elder sisters and he adored his baby brother. He loved his step-mother with a tenderness that put her on a level with his own mother, and the happiness she and her little family had brought to his own dysfunctional one was worth any amount of pain to protect it and he was cut up about Lizzie being hurt.

The realisation that the only thing that had stopped it being Casey was the mistaken belief that he was dating the elder sister made him realise that he would perpetuate that myth till kingdom come if necessary.

If it would protect her.

But pretending that they were dating would not be enough. These mob characters while occasionally mistaken were not stupid. When they had spent enough time watching Casey and Derek they would realise she was not his girlfriend.

So it made perfect sense to Derek at least that he should give her his surname; make her his wife.

Temporarily.

Until this whole pig shit of a situation was figured out.

It didn't matter that he and Casey had a hate-hate relationship, although even Derek understood that was somewhat inaccurate. She rocked his world in all the wrong ways, but there was no escaping the fact that his life would be poorer without her in it. It was a big part of why he had agreed with George about sticking with Casey when they were hidden.

He needed Casey and she needed him.

Unfortunately, he now had to persuade Casey of that fact.

.

Bob's reaction to Derek's suggestion had been contemplative which surprised Derek because he had assumed it would get laughed out of hand. But Bob was not given to rash judgements so he actually thought about it.

"It sounds extreme." Was his initial verdict.

"I know. I hate the woman."

Bob did laugh at that. The family maybe on tenterhooks right now, but Derek and Casey were Derek and Casey and he had already been party to a couple of Derek and Casey "moments". They included one which ended with Casey needing a shower to wash maple syrup from her cleavage and another where Derek announced to his family he was going commando because Casey had "lost" all his boxer shorts.

It had taken Marti to diffuse the latter situation. The young girl had squealed "Ew! Too much information!" And then demanded that if Casey had lost Derek's underwear maybe she should lend Derek her panties, which conjured up a picture which had them all laughing so much that in the end Casey had returned at least one pair of his shorts and then stomped off in a huff.

"Let me get this straight." Mac said over the secure phone line to his office when Bob called him. "Derek wants to marry Casey to make her a Venturi and then, if and when this is over, dump her ass and return to a life of drunken debauchery and topless models."

"So he says." Bob said to his old friend.

Mac laughed. "Fuck me. The young never learn do they?"

Bob chuckled. "I'm tellin' ya. The sincerity…speaks volumes."

"Does George know?"  
Bob shrugged although Mac couldn't see it. "Not for definite. But he has his suspicions and the one thing you should know about George… he ain't as clueless as he makes out."

"So what have you told Derek?"

"I told him he needed to be the one to tell Casey."

"Fuck…can you imaging _that_ conversation?"

"Oh yeah! I'm thinking about taking a leave of absence."

"Chicken!"

"Hey! Why are you in New York anyway?"

"Fuck you."

Bob was still laughing when he hung up.

* * *

Derek approached Casey after dinner.

"We need to talk." He muttered and because it was so rare that he sought her out, she nodded.

"My room? Eight thirty?"

"Sure." He said and took his seat opposite his baby brother.

Throughout dinner, he watched his step-sister. And his observations troubled him. Here was the girl he had fought against for so long as a child…and now he needed to treat her as an adult. The problem wasn't that she made a bad prospect as a wife. It wasn't that she was ugly or bad company. It was to be blunt, the complete opposite. Casey McDonald was beautiful, intelligent, vital, and whilst Derek had fooled himself into thinking that he would settle for just a beautiful façade in his future partner(s), the reality was, Casey surpassed what he had anticipated for himself. She had depths he had never seen in anyone else; characteristics that called to him in frightening ways. There was a possibility that she was more than he could handle.

.

Eighty thirty saw the rest of the family sitting down to watch 'Finding Nemo', a prospect neither of the adult children could face. So whilst George and the younger four plonked themselves in front of the TV, Derek and Casey held a council of war in her room.

Casey led the way, her pants making a noise as her legs rubbed together as she walked into the room. Derek refrained from commenting on it and decided to speak only facts.

"I think you should sit down." He announced when they were finally in her room.

"Oh?" Casey said, her movements showing her nervousness.  
"Bob knows why they picked Lizzie and not you." He said, cleanly, plainly, honestly.

Casey let out a breath. "Okay."

"You aren't going to like this. It's my fault." Derek admitted, although he thought she would be really unfair if she agreed with him. He continued. "You know the history your father has with the mob." He started. Casey nodded. "Well, it appears my family has a history with the mob too."

Her jaw dropped.

"What kind of history?"

"Three or four generations back, we were in Sicily. We _were_ Family."

Casey stared at him.

"How long have you known this?"

"Since Bob was here. Apparently, my branch of the family distanced themselves from the mafia, but blood runs thick. Our previous connection with the cosa nostra gives us a certain, thin degree of protection. In some ways, the Venturi are untouchable. Steve was allowed to target McDonalds. He is not allowed to target Venturis."

"I'm a McDonald." Casey stated.

Derek scratched at his hair, nervously. "Yeah. What'd'ya know? Apparently they think you and I are dating, which makes you a temporary Venturi."  
There was silence.

"How do you know this?"  
Derek shrugged. "Bob says they were given the intell by an informant." He patted the bed beside him.

"Princess we need to talk."

There was something in his voice that made her sit down next to him.

"This immunity of yours is temporary. They find out that we aren't dating, they _will_ attack you." He noted the frightened look in her eyes and took her hand.

"Casey. This goes against the grain, but I think the situation is serious enough for drastic measures."

"Oh?"  
"They will work out that we aren't dating soon enough. I want to stop that happening."

"How?"

He took a deep breath and just came out with it. "I want to marry you."

.

Until this moment, he had never really had a problem with her laugh. He was rapidly changing his mind.

"Case…Case…Casey!" He shouted, breaking across the hysterics she was currently enjoying. He could tell she was enjoying it. She glowed.

"You are insane!" She announced.

He nodded. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

"Derek. Of all the low tricks you have _ever_ pulled, this takes the prize."

"Casey. I'm serious. The FBI is talking about housing us together anyway; pretending that we are married. They are telling me you are in danger. They are telling me that danger would be dramatically reduced if your surname was Venturi. You are too old to be adopted so all I'm suggesting is that for a short, limited time we _make_ your surname Venturi." He paused. "I'm asking you to marry me, sis."

She snorted.

"Like hell I will."

"…for Nora and Lizzie's sake."

"You bastard!"

* * *

Bob may well have left the announcement up to Derek. But when Derek asked him to he supported Derek's plan. The following day he came to talk to Casey, ostensibly about the relocation. The reality was he was there to lend support to Derek's harebrain idea.

"Casey. You're a bright girl, okay?" Bob started. "And I admit that what Derek is suggesting is a little unorthodox."  
She stared at him in disbelief. "Your definition and my definition of "little" are rather different." She stated.

He leaned his head to one side.

"Casey. Right now, the whole family is in danger and if I had my way you would all be holed up in your own private wing of a maximum security prison."  
"Are strait-jackets optional?" She asked. Derek smirked in the corner.

"You have requested that you be allowed to finish your college career." Bob went on. "The only way we can do that is if we find a situation whereby we can guarantee your safety. We had two choices for your scenario. The first had you and Derek behaving as siblings, possibly twins. But the disadvantage is that you don't look alike and emphasising this relationship sends a message to the mob clear as day that you are his sister and that is all.

Alternatively, we set you up as a married couple; high school sweethearts. That way, even if something happens to Derek, you are still a Venturi."

"Why not just pretend?"

Bob shrugged. "We could…but they are resourceful. They will check. A false paper trail will only hold them for so long."

"You're asking me to marry my brother." Casey snorted.

Derek crossed the room to her. "Look me in the eye and tell me seriously that you think of me as your brother." He demanded.

Casey looked him in the eye, but she found the warm softness in his face too much and she had to look away. Derek raised a hand to stroke her face.

"Me either, sweetheart."

Bob coughed. "Casey?"  
"What will we tell our family?"

"The truth to a point. That we are hiding you as a couple. That you will be posing as newly weds. That they should talk about you as though you are married."  
"But not that it's actually real?" Casey asked.

Which was right about when Derek realised that she was going to do it.


	11. Old Friends New Lives

"It's been a long time, Bob" George said, putting the beer down in front of his old friend.

Bob nodded. "Too long. I can't believe how Derek has grown. I remember him when you brought him home from the hospital, how all the nurses escorted him to the front door. He's still the charmer, huh?"  
George groaned. "Oh yeah! Why do you think I'm grey so young?"

Bob snorted. "I think they call it poetic justice, sunshine. You certainly gave your parents a grey hair or two in your day. Do you remember that incident that nearly got you kicked out of law school?"  
His friend frowned. "Which one?"

"Exactly!"

They chuckled together. "Do you miss it?" George asked after a while. "The law, I mean."

"I still work with the law, George. These days I'm just more hands on."

"I don't think I ever really understood why you did what you did. You had the legal world at your feet. You could have had a position at any of the top legal firms in Canada. Why the Mounties?"

"I did an internship there before law school, you know, just to get the feel of the law in the land. But the job got its claws into me then, and it wouldn't let go. I don't regret going to law school, but you know what they say about the Mounties always getting their man…they got me alright."  
"Yeah. They got you, but that doesn't mean that you had to marry the goddamn force. You had so many options back then."  
"Options?" Bob raised an eyebrow.

"Angela, Maureen, Susan, Ruth…" George smirked at his friend.

Bob shuddered. "I still can't believe you pulled that prank on me. Do you know how long it took me to get rid of those harpies?"  
"About as long as it took me to persuade Abby that I wasn't gay?"

Bob choked on his beer. "Yeah that took you all of what…two minutes. As I recall you even used the words "browse my etchings".

"No thanks to you and Ben."

"God! Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Benedick Hoff. He was a great guy, always good for a laugh." Bob examined the label of his beer carefully. "What was that greeting he used to give again?"  
George smirked and quoted. "Hi. My name's Ben, as in Bene Dick. Bene means good and I assure you I live up to my name."

"And then you used to chip in with… "yeah. He's definitely a _dick_."!"

They grinned at each other.

"What happened with you and Abs, George?"

Derek's father shrugged.

"The usual. I was working too hard and she felt stifled. We tried for two years to make it work, but eventually we realised it just wasn't happening. The irony was she got what she wanted in the end. I had to change jobs to be able to look after the kids. So I did cut my hours. But by then we'd both moved on."

"You two were inseparable for a long time."  
"I know. It was good for a while. I miss her, but I wouldn't be married to her again. She's become what I was and I realise now how unattractive it is."

"I'm looking forward to meeting Nora."

George's face brightened. "You'll like her. She's a genuinely nice person. She took on my three which basically makes her a saint. She's different to Abby, driven by different things. It's a love match with her in a totally different way. With Nora there is no effort. She understands how I am better than I do. She knows the mistakes I'm going to make before I even contemplate them. The trouble is I'm still crap at taking advice. If you wanna laugh, ask Nora about the very first family road trip."

"I'll do that." Bob chuckled. "And three more children…"

"Yeah. Two beautiful step-daughters and another son. Life's busy but it's never dull."

"How do your elder ones like having step-sisters?" Bob asked, undeniably fishing.

"Marti treats them like they were her full sisters, and I'm really glad for that. Without a mother or sister I was worried about her for a while, especially as she is definitely Derek's favourite."

Bob raised his eyebrows. He wasn't so sure about that last statement.

"Edwin used to find Casey scary because when I married Nora he hadn't hit puberty and she was just everything forbidden thing from his nightmares and she was suddenly in his home. Lizzie, however, is his best friend. They have a healthy competition but they're very close."  
"Like Derek and Casey?" Bob asked. George narrowed his eyes.

"No. Definitely not."

There was a moment's silence and then Bob put his beer down on the table with a slight clank. "What is the deal with those two, George? I need to know for everyone's safety."

George sighed. "They met when they were both fifteen. Derek pretty much had free reign of the house. Casey had been the same in her home. They clashed because they needed to share territory. But…"

"There was more to it?"

"Over time it's become obvious that there was real affection between them. Still animosity but that isn't really surprising." He fixed his friend's eyes when he spoke next. "In another world, where their parents' weren't married, Derek would undoubtedly have dated Casey. It was obvious to us, but not so to them. Nora and I had watched with trepidation all the way through high school, wondering if the dam was going to break and if they were suddenly going to wise up. Some of their physical fights were heart-stopping moments. We sort of anticipated that at some point hormones would take over. But it never has. They've got closer and closer but there has never been a sudden frenzied coupling that changed everything."

"Maybe they're just brother and sister." Bob didn't believe it, and neither did George. The latter shook his head. "I doubt it. Just lately when he turned up in New York, I wondered if it was more than just physical attraction. He's always been a bit protective of her; sort of "no-one messes with Casey except me". He bails her out a lot. But then she does the same for him. When those two are in the zone, it's hard to be in the same room as them. It's fairly intense. He's not going to handle it well if you split them up to hide them."  
"We aren't." Bob said quietly. "We're going to hide them together."

George nodded. "Good. They'll be good for each other. What's the cover story?"

Bob said nothing for a moment. "Newlyweds."

George was rendered temporarily speechless. "Newlyweds!" he coughed eventually.

"Yeah. It was Derek's idea."

"Why?" The tone of amazement rang loud and clear.

"This is the bit I think you're really going to hate."

"Oh?"

"Rosemary came to see me."

George paled. _That_ he had not expected.

* * *

Meanwhile, Casey and Derek were in their respective rooms, packing. They would have very little that they could take with them because they were going to Nevada. They would be allowed to send some of their things to New York where they would be studying, but they were allowed just two bags to go with them to Las Vegas.

The decision to settle them in New York had surprised both Derek and Casey. Bob had smiled.

"It's the Purloined Letter approach." He stated.

Casey frowned. Derek looked enlightened and rather amused as he was able to turn to Casey and smirk. "Edgar Allen Poe, sweetheart. The art of concealing something by placing it under their noses."

"If I'm in New York will I be able to visit with Lizzie?"

Bob shook his head. "Probably not. I'm sorry. If someone is watching Lizzie they could follow you when you leave."

Casey's shoulders slumped. Derek was swept by another wave of anger for Casey's father and his godfather saw this.

"You know you shouldn't put too much blame on Dennis McDonald for taking the girls to New York, D. They would have tracked Casey and Lizzie down anyway even in Canada. Liz would have been hurt one way or another."

Casey frowned. "Why did you called Derek "D"?" She asked. "I know he's your godson but you haven't seen him in years."

Bob had shrugged. "Who do you think give him that nickname?"

.

So now the prospective couple were sorting through what remained of their life in London, sorting into three categories: things to take to Las Vegas, things to take to New York, and things to leave behind. They had been told that someone had already packed up their accommodation in Kingston and the contents of those rooms would be shipped to New York.

Casey found it hard to wade through her life not knowing how long it would be before they saw their family again. She wanted to lash out at someone and when she looked up to find Derek leaning against her door, it was obvious who that someone would be.

"What do you want?!" She snapped, nastily.

Derek flinched. They might fight, but Casey was never nasty. Wordlessly, he straightened and turned to go and she relented.

"I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"Not thrilled at the idea of marrying me?" he finished for her.

She looked down. "Sorry."

"Look on the bright side. Your rep at school just went through the roof."

She snorted. "Or yours just went through the floor."

He smiled. "I think half the school would drop dead with shock."

"What do you think Sam and Emily would make of this?"

It had been a while since either of them had seen their best friends, although they were still in touch. The fact that they were each also the other's best friend's ex made life a lot more complicated.

"They'd laugh." Derek said hollowly. But what neither of them realised was they were both thinking over conversations they had had independently with Emily after her split with Derek; conversations where she had called them out on their faux-sibling relationship.

Casey sighed. "Just so you know Derek, I'm not happy about this. I mean I see the logic, but it isn't something I'd have chosen. I don't want to leave my family and whilst there is some comfort in not being alone for this, the idea of going through a legal process to become your wife…"

Derek came into the room and sat down on her bed. He lifted her hand from the pile of clothes beside her where it had fallen and sandwiched it between his own.

"We need to remember why we are doing this. We need to forget the animosity between us. This is like every other time where we have joined forces. But sometimes, we need to laugh about it. Because if we don't the tension is going to be unbearable and we will spend all our time arguing and that won't help our cover. We need to convince people that we are young and in love enough to do something rash and foolish like running off to Vegas." He took a breath. "Princess, it's temporary, okay? Not real. It doesn't matter. We won't consummate the marriage. It's just a piece of paper. You'd probably even be able to get it annulled if you wanted to marry a catholic." He sighed. "I bet Edwin would do the same for Liz if they were old enough."

"How are you going to cope?" Casey asked softly, aware of his fingers laced with hers.

"With being married to you? I don't know, somewhere along the line I figure I'll contemplate suicide." He grinned at her.

"You won't be able to date…or…you know…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Derek laughed. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not a man-whore or a player or any of those other things the rumour mill at school and college would have you believe."

"There have been girls though." She said removing her hand from his.  
He shrugged again. "At times. I'm careful, and to be honest I'm not hugely proud of that aspect of my life. But I have done monogamy, Casey. I can be a one-girl guy."

"This isn't about monogamy. This is about celibacy."

Their eyes met.

"Yeah. So let's hope they catch this guy sooner rather than later before I get RSI."

Casey pulled a face, but it was an amused one. Derek laughed.

"Relax and enjoy the ride, sweetheart. This will probably be the shortest marriage in history, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun."

* * *

"Rosemary?!" George said in disbelief. "That's a name I didn't think I would hear again.

Bob nodded. "Me either. Or at least, not in connection with you."  
"What did she want?" George asked, praying she hadn't been trying to contact him. He couldn't handle that again. Then he remembered that Bob had been talking about Derek and Casey immediately before he mentioned George's…past.

"She contacted me as your cousin." Bob said. "There was no mention of…"

George closed his eyes. "It was all so long ago."  
"I know. She contacted me to explain how the family perceive this whole kit'n'caboodle. Anyway, it seems that the family have declared the Venturi untouchable. That was why Nora and the rest of you weren't targeted. Lizzie was the target because she was the remaining McDonald."

"Why not Casey?"  
"Her status is…indeterminate. They aren't sure if she's a Venturi or a McDonald."

George laughed. "Derek?"  
"Yeah."

"Hence the newlywed thing."

"Yes."  
"It makes sense. Did Rose say anything else?"  
"Just that the status may not remain the same and that we shouldn't relax our guard. So I'm behaving as though I didn't have the intel."  
"How dangerous is this?" George asked. "Tell me as a friend. Just what exactly are we looking at?"  
"I don't know, George. I really don't know."


	12. The Wedding

"When do you leave?" Edwin asked Derek, leaning against the door watching him pack. It was rare to hear Edwin talk these days. He kept quietly to himself in his room, only coming alive when Nora phoned with the update on Lizzie's condition.

"First thing. We have a long drive." Derek was opening drawers, throwing things onto the bed. At first, when they got back from New York he had tried to reach out to his brother, but then realised that he really couldn't blame him for being distant, and that his father and Nora were already doing as much as anyone could to support him. He had a feeling that when Lizzie was back on her feet, Edwin wouldn't let her leave his sight.

_If_ Lizzie got back on her feet.

"Am I allowed to ask where you're going?" Edwin continued.

"No." Derek answered, lifting the entire contents of one drawer into his open suitcase. "But I'll tell you, on condition you don't tell dad."  
"Can I tell Liz? When she's…with us?"

Derek had his back to Edwin and as his brother spoke he closed his eyes. He wanted to turn back time so badly.

"Sure. You can tell her, but on condition she doesn't come after me and kick my ass."

"Why on earth would Liz want to kick your ass?" Edwin asked, confused.

"We're going to Nevada." Derek answered. "Our cover is we're newly-weds. I'm taking Casey to Vegas to marry her."  
"Shit Derek! This is no time for fucking joking around!" Edwin was pissed, so much so he was half way out the door. "Why the hell do you feel the need to make up half-assed stories like that?"

Derek didn't bother to enlighten him.

.

"Smerek?" Marti came into his room a while later. "You're leaving?" It was obvious from her face that the idea upset her but she was trying desperately hard to be brave. Derek decided George must have spoken to her.  
"Yeah Smarts. Spacey and I are."

"You'll come back sometime though?"

Derek pulled the twelve year old munch-kin into his arms and buried his face in her hair. "I'll never leave you for good kiddo." He whispered.

"Good. Look after my sister."

He smiled. "She's family. Of course I will." Her words were a reminder of one of the reasons why he was doing this. For Marti: for the love his younger sister had for her step-sisters.

"Be nice to her Derek."

"I'll treat her like a princess."

"No arguing."

"Yes Mom!" he smirked at the little girl in front of him. "I'm going to make her a Venturi. Is that good enough?"  
"You'll marry her?" Sometimes Marti surprised even Derek with the way she jumped straight to the facts.

He nodded. "Do me a favour. Don't tell dad or Edwin till I'm over at least four county lines."

"Why?" She was back to that level of distracted only Marti possessed.

"Please Smarts. I like my anatomy the way it is."

"Sure thing Smerek." She leapt off the bed. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Probably not, honey."

"Okay. I love you." She said sadly, holding out her arms for a hug.

"I love you too."

"Now I'm going to go kiss my sister-in-law."

Derek frowned.

"Casey."

* * *

It was still dark outside the next morning when the time came to leave. Bob had introduced two FBI agents to them the previous night and informed them that they would be travelling to Las Vegas with Derek and Casey, although not in the same car. The agents, Angelo and Ronald were ill-matched by more than just appearance. The one was hard and ugly, the other effeminate and pretty. Ronald chattered like a school girl and Angelo grunted a lot.

The rest of the house was asleep, although George emerged from the basement to say goodbye. Casey took the opportunity to dash downstairs and kiss a sleeping Robbie, before climbing the stairs to Lizzie's room and leaving a sealed envelope on her absent sister's bed.

Derek watched her without comment but when she exited the room, closing the door behind her, he put a hand on her arm.

"It's temporary. When we come home, she'll be here waiting for us."

Casey nodded. "We need to go."

"Yes we do."

George hugged his step-daughter tightly and said that Nora would arrange to talk to her as soon as possible. There was speculation that as soon as Lizzie could be stabilised they would move her to Toronto which was likely to be where the family was settled. They had exchanged non-descript email addresses to stay in touch but Bob had already counselled them against excessive communications.

The leave-taking between father and son was less emotional, but not emotionless. The hug was a back-slap and a long lingering look.

"Look after her, Derek." Was all George said.

"With my life." Was Derek's uncharacteristic reply.

Then they climbed in the new, non-descript car provided for them by the FBI and with a final wave to George, and a nod to their tail, Derek pulled out into the lane, and headed for the highway.

And then Casey's tears started.

* * *

For the journey there, they had decided to just take it in turns to sleep on the wing. Derek drove, Casey slept; Casey drove, Derek slept. Consequently, they argued very little. The entire trip took thirty one hours and had them cross more than eight states, but they made it.

When they arrived, they found their hotel with ease and checked in. It had been Casey driving at the end, and the tiredness was making her cranky. They ate room service in their twin room, and their two agents joined them to eat and finalise the plan they had drawn up at various rest stops along the way. Angelo had been all for a basic wedding. Ronald, it appeared, had an _opinion_. Casey had objected to Derek's sole contribution to the discussion: the suggestion that they should be married by an Axel Rose lookalike. He thought her objection was the unreasonable bias of someone who wasn't a Guns'n'Roses fan. Then he spotted the look on her face and decided married life would be easier if she got her way on this at least. He had wisely backed down and agreed to let Ronald make arrangements for the ceremony.

That night, Derek and Casey closed the door after their shadows with heavy hearts and started to get ready for bed.

It was a strange wedding eve. The prospective bride and groom slept in the same room but different beds. They barely spoke a word to each other. But when the lights were out and they lay there in the dark, Derek spoke.

"Are you okay?"

"No. Not really. Tomorrow I'm going to make possibly the biggest mistake of my life, but I have to do it. My mom should be there on my wedding day. It should be a fairy tale from beginning to end. I should have chosen the clothes, the venue, and the attendants. I should be marrying someone who loves me, cherishes me, and wants to take care of me. Not my step-brother who would rather be cozying up to a hockey groupie with false breasts and bleach-blonde hair. This is not me, Derek! I want to be married to someone who cares!"

"I know. I understand all of that. But, don't lose sight of one thing. If I didn't care I wouldn't be here."

* * *

She didn't eat any breakfast, just showered and dressed in the simple dress Ronald had found for her. She made an effort with her appearance because she was Casey and she always did, and then she stood in front of the mirror and looked herself in the eye, critically. In a few weeks she would turn twenty one. The last place she thought she would be on her twenty first birthday was living in New York as Derek Venturi's wife.

Derek came back into the room just before it was time to leave. He too had made an effort and for once was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair as tamed as it ever got. Casey had to admit, he looked pretty good. Immediately as that thought crossed her mind she automatically suppressed it, the way she always did. The thought that she was feeling guilty for finding her fiancé attractive amused her.

He stood behind her and they watched each other in the glass.

"You look beautiful." He surprised her by saying. "Are you ready?"

"No."

He smiled wryly. "Me either."

"Derek? About last night. I'm sorry. I know you're only doing this to protect me. It's just…my wedding day was a big deal for me. It's like giving up a dream. Not a big dream but an important one."

"I know Casey. Today is not important, okay? In the greater scheme of things, it doesn't matter to you or me. It's nothing…nada…no big deal." he hoped the lie didn't show in his voice. It was a big deal on so many levels.

"Stop it. That makes it feel even worse. We're getting married. Let's just go do it."

"Sure." He caught her hand and unwrapped her fingers from the fist she had half made. "This is strange, isn't it? I never pictured my wedding day like this."

"You thought you'd get married?" She sounded surprised.

"Yeah. I want kids…why?"

Casey shook her head. "Nothing." Derek would make a good father. He loved kids. Sure, sometimes he pretended to run a mile from them, but the reality was he loved making young children laugh. She had seen that more and more recently with the birth of their baby brother.

Derek leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You shouldn't lament the dress, princess. The one you're wearing is perfect." He murmured.

Casey blushed at the compliment.

Realising he was losing his grip on his sanity, Derek reverted to type.

"Yeah." He went on. "You look like a poster child for mail order brides."

"Der-ek!"

* * *

They crossed the foyer of the hotel to where Ronald and Angelo were waiting, but before they could leave, Derek disappeared off in the directions of one of the hotel concessions shops. Angelo sighed and looked at his watch.

But Derek wasn't long, returning with a white box that looked like the sort you would get a cream cake in from the bakers.

"You and your stomach, Derek." Casey grouched. He smirked and took her hand in his free one. He kept a tight hold of Casey on the way to the chapel because he actually didn't put it past her to run.

Once they had arrived, the acting began. Casey tried to remember to smile and look as though she loved the lug who was apparently welded to her side.

"I'm not going anywhere, Derek. You can give me some breathing space."

"Why would I want to do that? I'm in love with you." He grinned at her. Casey rolled her eyes.

They filled out the paperwork, handed over birth certificates and ID, and were given their instructions. The wedding was going to be recorded on a DVD for them, and they had the option of making it available to view live over the internet. The thought of that made them both chuckle.

And then they were waiting for the start of the service. Angelo had picked his seat at the back of the chapel, and Ronald, in a baby blue tux had anointed himself as Casey's attendant. As he fussed over something with the celebrant, Derek turned to Casey and handed her the white box.

"Yours, I believe." He said quietly. "It's not food."

Casey opened the box and looked in surprise at Derek and her eyes softened. Inside was a tiny bouquet of small white flowers, although neither Derek nor Casey knew their name. There was also a small hair comb with a single white flower invisibly wired to it.

She removed the flowers from their box and handed it to Derek, before crossing to a mirror evidently placed for last minute checks. Derek watched as his fiancée slid the comb into her hair. She smiled a small genuine smile, and to Derek the last minute gesture inspired by the sight of her in their hotel room suddenly seemed less impulsive and more of a necessity.

"Thank you." She whispered.

They gazed at each other for a moment, unsure of what had just happened, and then "Barry White" appeared, his music in the background and they took their places.

Casey shook herself slightly to get her head back to a place she recognised and began to walk down the short aisle beside Derek. When they reached the front, she was back to normal and whispered under her breath to him.

"This changes nothing. I still feel the same way about you. And you can forget about consummation!"

Derek smirked as they turned and the service began.

.

Afterwards, they remembered nothing, except Ronald dabbing his eyes delicately with a tissue in the front pew, Angelo's calm acceptance and slightly bored manner, and they remembered the kiss.

"You may now kiss the bride." Mr White instructed when all the formalities were done.

Casey looked startled.

"Don't be shy, love." Derek grinned at her. "We're all friends here." He took hold of her clenched fist which he was fairly certain contained delicately painted fingernails which were digging into her palms in irritation. He gently uncurled the fingers and pulled her to him.

"You're mine, Casey Venturi." He said with an evil scientist laugh. "All _mine_!"

And then he kissed her.


	13. The Wedding Night

"_Don't be shy, love." Derek grinned at her. "We're all friends here." He took hold of her clenched fist which he was fairly certain contained delicately painted fingernails which were digging into her palms in irritation. He gently uncurled the fingers and pulled her to him._

"_You're mine, Casey Venturi." He said with an evil scientist laugh. "All mine!"_

_And then he kissed her_.

Derek swooped towards Casey to press his lips against hers. Derek Venturi would never turn a kiss down from an attractive woman – even if she was his step-sister. (or at least that's what he told himself).

He had it all figured out. A comic, but nice, fairly tame kiss, he thought; nothing too risqué. It wasn't supposed to be a peck on the lips, but instead something that looked loving but restrained; like you were kissing your new wife in front of complete strangers. It was all about appearances.

He decided not to look her in the eyes as he kissed her, reasoning that if he saw cold, bloodied murder in their depths he wouldn't be able to go through with the kiss. Instead, he picked a spot to the side to stare at. There was no way on earth he would consider closing his eyes. Defence is all about being observant.

Duck, kiss, retreat was the plan.

Derek's body, egged on by Casey's had other ideas.

The moment his lips touched hers, his eyes closed involuntarily and his intuitive defence system was flying blind and, it appeared, flying solo, because his mind seemed to have disappeared too. Fortunately, there was no immediate offensive launched by the opposing force. The part of Derek's system still capable of thought put that down to complete shock on Casey's part.

As well as the intention to keep his eyes open, the intention to keep it brief was also lost. Derek's lips met Casey's and they had _both_ closed their eyes. The quick peck turned into something deeper and longer, and a rather amused Barry White impersonator was forced to cough loudly and comment to Angelo and Ronald that he was thinking of coming to the ceremonies equipped with a water pistol because it was like this "every single damned time".

Casey pulled herself away from Derek and they stared at each other for several heartbeats. Casey blushed a vivid pink which slightly panicked Derek and he returned to type.

"That's quite a sink plunger you have going there, Mrs Venturi. I think my mouth's gone numb with the pressure."

The soft look in her eyes hardened as she did the same, and when they turned to go back down the aisle she hissed at him.

Casey snorted. "If only, Derek. If only. The peace would be a relief."

Her new husband laughed, relieved that they had recovered their equilibrium. "Atta girl Case!" He said and, knowing it was expected of a new husband, took her hand in his.

He noticed the strange feeling of the wedding band on his own left hand as he laced their fingers together.

* * *

"I guess this is one way to spend our wedding night." Casey sighed, leaning against the casino pillar with a resigned look on her face.

Derek rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the table. "Hush woman! I'm trying to concentrate."

"Why? You need to fold Derek. There's no way you can beat that hand. You need at least an ace and they've already gone."

"Casey…" Derek muttered through gritted teeth, but he folded all the same and then watched in disbelief as the guy next to him got dealt an ace.

"Whoops!" His wife said and he noticed looked suitably abashed.

"I don't know why I listened to you. I was always better at math than you." He growled scooping up his remaining chips and leaving the table. This time, he went for the one-arm bandits, and Casey found herself having to shout to make herself heard.

"Maybe I should just go back to our room." She commented.

"Why? So you can watch the free cable porn?"

She didn't retort back and Derek turned his gaze to look at her and realised she looked lost and sort of lonely. It occurred to him they were going to be each other's sole companion for a while and that ditching her wasn't really an option. "You wanna go at this?" he said offering her the thin plastic cup full of coin.

"I can't Derek, I'm underage." She whispered.

"You and I are the only ones that know that. Come on." He pulled her into the space in front of him and put a couple of coins into her hand. "Live life dangerously, Mrs V."

Casey opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again. His voice warm near her right ear was encouraging and the alternative was sitting in their room reading. She'd spent a lot of time alone recently so she actually wanted to spend time with someone else…maybe even some of her wedding night with her husband. Although not in _that_ way…obviously.

"Okay. What do I do?" She asked and Derek leaned closer, his arms around her so that he could reach for the machine, and his chin resting on her shoulder.

"You need to…" and she tried to ignore his breath on her skin as she listened to his instructions.

* * *

The elevator pinged and as the doors opened the sound of laughter filled the hotel corridor. It was ten pm, and finally hunger had forced the pair of newly weds to return to their room. Derek had suggested they eat in the restaurant, but Casey really wanted to get rid of the heels she was wearing because they were hurting. She said she wanted to climb into her pyjamas and eat dinner sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Right now, that sounded really attractive to Derek too.

They steered a path to the hotel room door and Derek pulled the key from his wallet. Then as he opened his door, in a moment of insanity, he bent down and swept Casey's legs from under her, scooping her up into his arms. She squealed and then he stepped over the threshold…

…And immediately cried out in pain.

Casey slipped to her feet again.

"Are you okay?"  
"No." He winced rubbing his lower back. "You're heavier than you look." She pushed the door closed behind them and followed his limping figure into the room.

"Yes Derek. I could have told you that if you'd given me some warning. What was that all about anyway?"  
"Tradition, Casey." He said, sitting on the end of the bed and kicking his shoes off. His tie was already hanging undone around his neck, and he'd thrown his jacket over the back of the small sofa in their room. Casey was finally removing her own shoes.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's…" she started.

"Bad luck if I didn't do it." He answered.

Casey chuckled. "Derek. Don't you think this marriage is cursed to high heaven anyway?"

"Exactly." He said, lying back onto the comforter, his hands behind his head. "It needs a helping hand." His eyes were closed, but a suddenly noise close by made him flick his eyelids open.

Casey was leaned over him frowning. Derek suddenly realised how his statement had sounded.

"What I meant was we need help to get through the…ordeal." He backtracked trying to ignore the sight of his giggling wife looming over him, or rather, trying to ignore the urge to do something about it.

He slid away from her and went for the room service menu.

"I need red meat and starch." He said as though his life depended on it.

"The way you eat I'm in danger of being a widow before I'm a divorcee." Casey stated, rubbing her sore feet.

"I'm not that bad. I can't afford steak normally, and this one's on the US government." He wiggled his eyes at her, for comic effect. "I'm going to have the steak sandwich and fries."

Casey held her hand out for the menu.

"They don't have any tofu." He added helpfully.

"Why do you always bring that up? That was _one_ meal, Derek. And, I might add, you _ate_ it."

"What can I say? I'm a human garbage can."

She smirked. "I know Derek. I often think of you like that."  
Derek tried to think of an appropriate come-back, but he was sort of relieved that they were back to fighting. Knowing that in the eyes of every society in the world there was very little prohibiting them from having sex was rather distracting.

Casey, however, was one of the things prohibiting that course of action – a fact for which he was grateful. His body was a treacherous bastard at the best of times, especially when she hung over him as she had been a moment a go, looking all virginal and sixty degrees of hot.

Casey, surprisingly, opted for the steak sandwich as well, and twenty minutes later, they were enjoying a carpet picnic including ice cream, and a bottle of wine. Derek even managed to persuade Casey to have a glass, though she was technically underage in the US, by nearly three months.

"What's on the TV?" Casey asked as they ate. Derek shrugged and started to flick through the channels.

"The 'Wedding Singer'?" He asked, praying that she realised that was a joke.

"I hated that film." She said quietly.

"Oh?" Derek was surprised. Surely it ticked all the boxes.

"He looked too old." She admitted, regretting the fact she was so shallow. She didn't like Little Women either, or rather she did, but she didn't like any of the following books.

Derek said nothing, but continued to flick. An ice hockey game appeared on the screen.

"Don't even think about it, Venturi." A voice beside him stated. Sighing he continued to flick before finding a channel showing a CSI marathon.

"It'll do." He said, and Casey nodded her agreement.

They watched until all the food was finished, cleared away and left the tray outside of the door. Casey went to the bathroom while the commercial break was on, and Derek topped up her glass with the wine. He didn't want to drink the whole bottle himself, because wine seemed to affect him more than alcohol in any other form, and that was dangerous around Casey. Casey drunk was also to be avoided, for the same reasons, but he thought she would be safe with another glass.

She noticed her glass was full when she returned, but said nothing, just resumed her place on the carpet and leant back against the end of the bed to watch the rest of the CSI episode.

.

Three hours later, at about 1am, Casey woke lying on something hard and warm. Her cheek told her it was fabric, but it occasionally moved. She was still facing towards the TV but her face was closer to the ground and as her mind pulled itself from the realms of sleep, her eyes shot open.

She was lying with her head in Derek's lap, and his fingers were knotted into her hair. She sat up suddenly, accidentally yanking her own hair and waking Derek.

"What?!" he said groggily.

"I was…we were…Why was it so hard?...Urgh! Der-ek!" Casey stormed off into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Still not particularly cognisant of what was going on, he stumbled to his feet and banged on the bathroom door.

"Care to tell me what's got you so pissed?" He yelled.

The door opened slightly.

"I woke up with my head in your lap, Derek."  
Derek sighed. Not good but still, did it warrant _this_ reaction?

"So?"

"Your fingers were playing with my hair and your…lap…" her voice trailed off.

"Casey…?" Derek prompted.

"Your _lap_ was hard!" She shouted and slammed the door in his face.


	14. Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mam

Three days.

Derek wasn't exactly sure how long he thought was an appropriate time for someone to give you the silent treatment over the involuntary actions of your body but he felt three days was long enough.

On their wedding night, Casey had emerged, glaring from the bathroom. She then proceeded to slam the doors of every thing she could – bathroom, wardrobes, minibar – and then she climbed into her bed, threw the pillow over her head and didn't re-emerge until the morning. Derek knew her well enough to know that he needed to give her some space. Besides, _he_ needed to calm down. She wasn't kidding about his "lap".

Ronald and Angelo had appeared at their room the following morning to plan the long journey from Las Vegas to New York and Derek wasn't exactly sure what state they had expected to find their charges in, but he doubted that the tension they met was it. No sooner did they enter the room, than Casey was grabbing her bag and leaving, taking Ronald with her. Angelo and Derek were left staring at each other.

"PMS?" The normally reticent G-man asked.

Derek shook his head. "Just normal Casey." He replied with a resigned manner.

"What the fuck did you do? Sleep hump her or something?" Angelo cocked an eyebrow.

There was a quiet pause.

"Tell me you didn't sleep hump her…" Angelo pleaded.

"I didn't sleep hump her. She fell asleep on my lap and I got…erm…morning wood."

Angelo laughed. "Casey wasn't impressed?"

"It was 1am. Casey's…" Derek wasn't about to rat her virgin status out. "less comfortable with the physical parts of the opposite sex than most women."

Angelo sighed, becoming serious for a moment. "How long till she calms down?"  
"I don't know. I've never had a hard on in front of her before." Derek shrugged. "Probably several hours."

"I'm not leaving you two alone in the car if she's homicidal."  
Derek chuckled. "Like I said, that's just Casey. I'll deal with it when she gets back."

"I was hoping to leave today. Maybe tomorrow would be better."  
"Yeah. Probably. She needs to shop and have girl company."  
"Good thing Ronald's gone with her then."

The two guys smirked at each other.

"Coffee?" Derek offered his bodyguard.

"Please." Angelo threw the pile of maps he was carrying down and perched on Casey's bed. "Why are you doing this Derek?"  
"Doing what?"

"Why did you marry your step-sister if the two of you can't stand each other?"

"Because she's Casey. And I don't trust any other fucker to look after her."

* * *

He had a plan. It involved copious amounts of Thrash metal and extreme volumes. He had spent his "day off" cruising the music stores of Las Vegas buying Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer CDs. Derek figured if the 'Big Four' didn't break Casey's silent treatment she was destined to die a virgin, because no one could withstand the gods of thrash without breaking unless they were controlled by a higher power.

Knowing Casey, he actually wouldn't put it past her.

For three days now, all communication between them had been via a third party, although Angelo had objected quite vocally to the 3am phone-call which started,

"Angelo. Would you kindly tell Derek to stop snoring please?"

Derek wondered how much the bullet hole in the ceiling was going to cost Uncle Sam. It did the trick though. Who knew that Derek and Casey's room was directly above Ronald and Angelo's room?

They had been on the road for two days now and the silence in the car was excruciating. Derek was biding his time, but he had nearly caved on several occasions. The thought of another eight days of this was depressing. However, he waited until Casey was driving before sliding in one of his new purchases and cranking up the volume.

It was Metallica, 'Enter Sandman'; a great track in Derek's opinion, one of his favourites. It was the sort of track you turn up, wind down your windows and say screw other road users. Derek did exactly that.

Casey's knuckles on the steering wheel turned white but she said nothing.

Derek let the CD pass through its repertoire and then moved on to Megadeth.

Casey said nothing.

Another day and the 'Big Four' exhausted, Derek gave up.

At the next possible rest stop, he confronted her.

"Casey…" he started. Casey ignored him. "Casey…" She still ignored him. Derek had had enough. He stepped in front of her and waved his hands in her face.

"What?" Casey asked.

"Okay. I cave. What the fuck is it going to take to get you to at least talk to me again? You think I'm a pervert or something? It was 1am - I was asleep. I was probably dreaming about some blonde with big assets or something. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Casey, I'm not going to be the sad guy whose wife divorces him for sleep humping her, okay? Believe me, babe, I'm far more grossed out about the idea of you inspiring…erm…that sort of reaction than you are. I mean, hell, you may be my wife, but that doesn't mean I find you attractive or anything." Derek rambled on and on, until he suddenly realised that Casey hadn't said anything. He frowned.

"Casey?"

Casey smiled sweetly, raising her hand to her ear and removing what looked like a wax ear plug.

"Did you say something Derek?"

Derek closed his eyes and gave in.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

Casey's smile broadened. "Just so you understand buster." She said, leaning forward. "You come within two feet of me and I will ask Ronald to install drainage holes in your manhood."

"My what?"

"You heard me, moron."

And with that, she turned on her tail and walked back to the car.

* * *

After that, she did at least talk to him, or rather when they argued she did it directly rather than through their two intermediaries. Occasionally she said something non-confrontational while they were driving, but it wasn't often.

This time they were driving with less haste. The previous road trip had been hurried to get Casey married as soon as possible. Now they had the leisure to take the long journey to New York a bit slower. They were averaging about three hundred miles a day, and the motels they were staying in were less impressive. They had been told that their apartment would be ready in a week so there was no hurry.

Each night, they stayed in a twin-bedded room of the sort where you would let your grandma stay, but only just. Ronald and Angelo shared the twin room next door. Casey never saw inside so she had no idea whether they actually shared the same bed or not. On the brief occasion she pondered the question, she came to the conclusion they probably didn't. Angelo had looked at Casey's wedding outfit in a completely different way to Ronald. The latter waxed lyrical about the stylish cuteness of it; the former liked the way it enhanced her breasts.

Evenings in the motel were the hardest, especially as her relationship with Derek was fairly near rock bottom. She missed the closeness they usually had in their fights. Now they were distant from each other, even in conflict. In the past, Derek had not been afraid to get up close and personal. Now he rarely came within four feet of her. It wasn't surprising because she had threatened him, but even though his distance was what she wanted, she still missed him.

They had been on the road for five days when the email came through.

_Hi Sweetheart, it's mom._

[Casey was glad she had begun like that because she didn't recognise the email address at all.]

_Just to let you know I'm still in New York and there is little change. The staff tell me that this is a good thing, a positive thing and that it will take time, but it doesn't feel good right now._

_It's especially bad because I'm away from home and I miss everyone. Somehow, I guess you understand that because you aren't there either. I hear that D is with you. G said something about you travelling as newlyweds…oh dear! Shall I warn the authorities?_

_Tell D I'm proud of him – I'm proud of you both. If this is the case, you've put your differences aside for the greater good, and that is definitely something to be proud of. Besides, I think you two exaggerate the hatred a little too much._

_Look after each other and remember, even if it is just the two of you at the moment, you are part of a much bigger family who love you both._

_I'm not sure when I'll have anything more to tell you. But just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you._

_Love always,_

_Mom._

_X_

Casey cried when she read her mom's words. Derek looked up.

"Jesus Casey! Waterworks again?!"

Casey stood up calmly crossed the room and performed a perfect right hook to his jaw.

Then she let Derek read the email.

* * *

The next email, two days later was from Marti. She told them that she had moved but wasn't allowed to say where they were. She told them about her new school and house – in very general terms - and it was full of her trying to get used to not having Nora or Lizzie in the house. It was obvious with George trying to cope with everything, Edwin wallowing in his depressed state, and the only other person in the house still under the age of five, Marti was very lonely.

Casey ached for her little sister and wished she could be there. She wondered how Robbie was coping without his mom, the little boy far too young to understand. And she thought about George, trying to cope once again with three children who all missed their mother.

She let Derek read the email since it had come from Marti. Their eyes met when he had finished and he tried to pull her to him for a hug, but Casey wasn't ready for sympathetic Derek, and pulled away.

Later that night, as he lay in bed listening to her soft sobbing, Derek cursed his inability to get it right with Casey. He had tried to be normal for her and got smacked for his trouble. He had tried to be comforting and she had pushed him away. He needed to find a way to get through to her that they were in this together.

But this was him and Casey, and two wedding rings don't make a smooth relationship.

He did what he always did these days when he had to sleep just a few feet from his wife. He buried his head under the pillow and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

The four of them, in their two cars had now developed something of a routine. Derek and Casey took the lead for most of the journey and then a few miles short of their intended motel, Angelo would normally overtake them and roar off up the road to "check out" rooms and the general the lie of the land and make sure he and Ronald knew what lay ahead.

They did the same for rest stops too; which is why they weren't nearby when Derek crashed the car.

Casey and Derek were arguing. Derek couldn't even remember what had triggered today's sparring match but now they were on to her criticisms of his taste in music. (He _was_ still playing Metallica, although not as loudly). Casey was also complaining that she was cold, which was hardly surprising as the temperature was minus six Celsius and the roads were icy to say the least.

Derek, Casey and driving don't go very well together. Derek, who was driving leaned across to switch on the heating and switch off the CD when he hit a large patch of black ice.

The car immediately spun out of control and Casey screamed. Derek managed to remain calm, easing off the gas and loosening his grip on the steering wheel, letting the car go where it wanted to. They both waited for the bang.

When it came, it hurt and it was immediately obvious that it was a very solid something. Casey opened her eyes to see the tree in front of them, but the nose of the car looked far less damaged than she would have thought.

"Thank you." Derek said quietly.

"For what?" She managed to gasp.

"Those two defensive driving lessons you gave me for my birthday."

Casey gave a small smile and made to nod her head.

"Ow!" She cried out and clutched at her neck.

"Careful, you've got whiplash. We should call 911."

"We should call Angelo."

Their bodyguard said they would turn around and join them and Derek could hear Ronald talking to someone on his own cell in the background, making arrangements. In fact, by the time Ronald and Angelo arrived, the local sheriff was already there and arranging for the car to be towed. The group of lawmen stood around looking at the wrecked car, discussing what had caused the crash.

"It was ice." Derek said. "I got distracted and I hit ice."

Casey stood to one side, holding her neck and shivering even in her large coat. A paramedic gave her the once over and announced the whiplash was nothing that a painkiller and an early night wouldn't fix.

Angelo approached Derek and handed him his car keys.

"Don't wreck this one." He said with a wry smile also handing over a scrap of paper with the name of a hotel in the next town. "You've got a reservation there. We'll sort this out and meet you there. Leave our bags in the boot when you get there. I have a spare key so I won't need to disturb you. Just keep your eyes open for trouble and if in doubt call 911."  
Derek nodded.

"Is Casey okay?" Angelo asked.

Derek frowned. "I'm not sure. She's hurt her neck and she isn't talking. She's either pissed with…again, or she's in a lot of pain."

"Or both." Angelo grinned.

"Or both."

* * *

**AN: Okay and now for the bad news. I'm off on my jollies, so there may not be any more updates for a WEEK! I'm not taking my laptop and I won't have an internet connection so I guess it will be a real vacation!**

**I will however be taking the lovely notebook that my friend Kim gave me so that I can keep writing while I'm away, and it will give me time to plan a bit more plot – and work on my other two stories too.**

**The good news is I'm off to the playground of the rich (and us mere mortals), The French Riviera! (Monaco, Monte Carlo, Nice…and for the first time since my honeymoon…Italy!) I'll let you know if it is all as glam / James Bond in real life as it looks!**

Anyway, sorry to leave you all for a while. The children go back to school almost immediately, so I should have chance to churn some new chapters out as soon as I get back.

Au Revoir / Ciao!

Sarah


	15. Starter Home

_Location: A hotel just outside of New York City_

_Time: The Present: A month before Casey's 21__st__ birthday._

* * *

[From chapter 3]

_Derek wrapped his arms around her dramatically. "Thanks Babe." He said in her ear in his best Barry White voice. She squealed, wriggled and looked back up at him. The smile disappeared from her face._

"_This sucks." She said honestly leaning her head back against his shoulder. "But it would suck a whole lot more if I was doing it on my own."_

"_I know. You'll owe me for the rest of your life." He said jocularly. _

"_Yes Derek. I will." _

_She wasn't joking._

He shifted back in the bed so that he was resting against the headboard, and pulled her with him, tightening the grip he had on her waist.

"I would have been alone too." He said fiddling with the fingers on one of her hands. Casey snorted.  
"Yeah right. You'd have hooked up with the nearest piece of talent."  
Derek raised an eyebrow as she smirked up at him.

"What does that make you?" He retorted.

"Your wife, Derek."

"Yes. You are, aren't you?" He took a deep breath and clung onto her hands for dear life to stop her escaping. They needed to talk about the "lap" incident.

"…Which means it really shouldn't be a big deal if my body has a reaction to you. Casey, I'm human." She smirked. He held up a hand. "Yeah, yeah. I get the joke." He paused. "Look, I'm a guy and I'm not that long out of my teens, okay? We're in extra-close proximity I grant you, but I don't believe for one minute you haven't experienced guys having hard-ons around you before."

"What do you mean "experienced"?"

He laughed. "I mean, surely at least one of the losers you've dated enjoyed kissing you so much that he…reacted?"  
"They weren't losers Derek and they were respectful. _They_ managed to subdue their baser nature around me."

This time Derek snorted. He wondered how all three of the bastards had managed to hide _that_ from her x-ray vision. "Baser nature? Jesus Casey! Can you be any more of a prude?"

"It's not prudish wanting to wait until you're married before exploring that side of your nature, Derek."

"We _are_ married Casey." A look of shock crossed her face. "I'm not suggesting we do anything about it! I'm just saying don't condemn me for reacting when a hot chick lays her head in my lap."

"What happened to "hell, you may be my wife, but that doesn't mean I find you attractive or anything"?"

"I _knew_ you could hear me even with the ear plugs in!"

She grinned smugly.

Derek smirked a smirk of his own. "This will _really_ gross you out. I know for a fact Edwin's had a…erm…reaction to you in the past." Derek said. Casey spun her head so fast she knocked him on the nose.

"What?"

"Yeah. Gross huh? At least _I'm_ your husband."

"For now."

"Yeah." Derek confirmed and looked away.

Before long, they both grew tired and slipped down in the bed, and once again Derek wrapped his arms around her.

"Casey, we argue enough about the things I really am guilty of. Please can we not argue about this?"  
"If you'll help me to avoid situations where _that_ is likely to happen."

"Sure. I guess that will make both of us more comfortable."

Casey was quiet for a moment, and he wondered if she had gone to sleep.

"Do you think I'm safe now?" she asked, surprising him slightly.

"As safe as I am." He said. "Don't worry about it. What will be will be."

"I can't think like that Derek."

"I know. But fretting just makes things worse. It makes you stand out in the crowd. It could make you a target. It could make _us_ a target."  
"I'm sorry."  
Derek chuckled softly against her hair.

"Casey. You can't help being you, any more than I can help being me."

* * *

It was Derek who was last to fall asleep and it was Derek who woke first, which was sort of a good thing because Casey was wrapped around him and he needed to move before the truce agreed last night expired painfully. He edged away from her, and slipped out of bed. He needed to pee.

The hotel room _was_ nice he decided as he left the bathroom and re-tying his bath robe, walked to the large window to look out at the early morning. The sun was just coming up in the distance and he marvelled at a sight he rarely saw. Early mornings and Derek Venturi were rare companions.

He glanced over his shoulder at his sleeping wife and smiled. Casey had wrapped herself in the comforter while he was in the bathroom and was now hugging it the way she had been hugging him a few moments ago. He wondered what she would have made of their earlier position and decided he wouldn't tell her. It had been a pleasant way to wake up and if he told her the chances were it wouldn't happen again.

Casey McDonald had been a constant presence in his life for six years, as unattainable as she was intrusive in his otherwise calm existence. Now, as Casey Venturi she had taken a step closer to attainable.

But it was a very slight step, barely noticeable under a microscope.

Derek could admit, looking at her now, that she was beautiful, in body and in spirit. And though he would die a thousand deaths rather than admit it to her face, the guy who she married for life would be a very lucky man.

He covered a slight sigh with a shrug to himself and a wiseass internal comment about the chick who ended up with Derek would be luckier still.

Casey stirred and rather than get caught staring at her, he turned back to the window.

* * *

"When we get to New York," Angelo began over breakfast in their room. "You'll no longer have a dedicated team." He saw the panic cross Casey's eyes. "You'll still have a team, what I meant was that it will rotate on a shift basis."

"We won't have you?" Casey asked the alarm only slightly quietened.

"On occasion, yeah, it'll be us. But only one or two times a week. The rest of the time it will be one of the other teams. Most of the time, you won't even know they are there. The idea is you just get on with living your life and we'll protect you. You'll be given a panic number and button, but unless you use it the only time we'll contact you is if we have news to pass on."

"We'll be on our own?" Derek asked.

"Yeah." Angela grinned. "Think you two can handle being totally alone together?"  
"Just so long as I get the panic button." Derek quipped. Casey scowled. He remembered they were on a truce and mouthed an apology.

Ronald had been out of the room making a call to his boss and at that moment he returned beaming.

"Good news! The apartment is ready. Apparently, it's very small but they've furnished it for you and all your belongings are there. They've decided not to return the car to you, thinking that it looked a bit new for two newly-married students. But you won't need a car in New York anyway, you can just use the subway."  
"Great. Why do I get the feeling Uncle Sam is penny-pinching?"

Ronald nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't get your hopes up about the furniture in the apartment either. It will have been done on the cheap. At least you know they aren't wasting your tax dollars."  
Derek laughed. "I'm a Canadian _student_, Ronald. I don't pay many US taxes."

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

"We'll make the rest of the journey in our car, so let's get packed up. I'm due a vacation as soon as we get back and I need me some sun." Angelo appeared to have finally found his voice.

* * *

Neither Derek nor Casey commented on the fact that the last time they had been in New York was when Lizzie had been hurt, but they were both very aware of that fact.

They sat in the back of Angelo's car and as they passed the city boundary sign, Casey's hand found Derek's. He squeezed the hand in his own and they both looked out of the windows at the scenery they were passing. Casey's enthusiasm for New York had waned somewhat.

They had been assigned a small apartment in the student quarter near to the university so that they could resume their studies. The surrounding streets were full of young people of every creed and colour. They were all milling, chatting and messing about the way students do the world over. The difference this time was that Derek felt old. The majority of the guys he saw on the street before him maybe very well be close to his own age, but they probably knew very little of life. They certainly didn't know what it was to fear for your life; Derek glanced at Casey, _or_ your sanity.

It wasn't unusual to find married students at college, especially at his age. As the end of their courses, and the beginning of grad school drew near, relationships became more serious. One guy on Derek's hockey squad back in Kingston had not only been married by twenty one, but when Derek left, his wife was expecting their first child.

Derek hadn't exactly looked down on the married students; he had just never expected to be one of them. Even now he wasn't planning on joining any of the married student societies. (There's a society for everything in the student world). He guessed in this new college where people knew so little about him, at first glance he would look like one of those people who he had believed he had so little in common with.

"Hi. My Name's Derek Venturi. This is my wife Casey. Yeah yeah. We married young." He was going to speak that phrase often, he could tell.

Casey also saw the students and part of her frowned at the realisation that she was going to have to learn how to settle in a new place…again. This was the third big upheaval in six years. She hoped that soon she would find a place and a life where she could gain some more permanent friends, and maybe a husband who didn't use that confounded smirk to such devastating purpose.

.

At length, they pulled up beside an apartment building that looked clean and well-lit, but that was probably the only positive thing that could be said about it. It had little charm, and judging by the close proximity of the front doors as they looked along the hall, the apartments weren't big.

In fact, their apartment was miniscule and almost totally open plan. There was a small kitchen open to the living area, a bathroom and at one end of their cramped little space a bed tucked behind a screen. The décor was not at all great. The walls had been painted a bright white colour which made it a very cold space, and the furniture was scratched and had clearly come from a thrift place. The feel of the apartment was less than upbeat.

Then Derek noticed something important.

"Where's the other bed?"

Angelo frowned. "Derek. There isn't room for another bed. This place is tiny."  
"They could have put twins in instead of a Queen bed." Derek protested.  
"a) This is an open plan apartment. If you have visitors they would think it was strange that two newly weds inhabit separate beds. b) They tried to fit twin beds in and it didn't work. c) Didn't you two share a bed last night without a problem?"  
"That was one night! And how do you know it was without a problem?" Casey said, finally joining in.

"You're both still alive. Your death would have been my only problem."

Casey looked at Derek. "What do we do?"  
"We talk about it later." Derek said. "When the laughing policeman here has cleared off."

Angelo and Ronald spent some time going through special instructions with Derek and Casey: how to put out the garbage (a special shredder had been provided for all their papers), what to do in the event of a fire – apparently they weren't supposed to save themselves first, and how to deal with people who knocked on the door or came to visit. They were promised a visit from Mac in the next few days.

Eventually, however, Derek and Casey were alone again.

* * *

The door closed behind the two agents and silence filled the tiny apartment.

"He said there weren't any roaches. Do you think he meant it?" Casey asked warily.

"I'll tell you what. If we find any I'll let you call his mobile whatever the time of day it is." Derek said and he was serious.

"I guess this is better than a lot of young couples have." Casey whispered. "It's just not what I wanted for my first home as a wife."

"It isn't your first home as a wife, Casey. It's a safe house." Derek flopped onto the tiny faux leather couch and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sure your first home as a wife will be palatial and spotless. You'll make me take my shoes off when I come to visit."

She smiled at him, so he continued.

"Yeah. I can totally see you as one of those weird chicks who coats all their furniture in wipe-able plastic and only lets the Minister sit in the front parlour. Your guest rooms will stink of moth balls and you'll have those little purple soap things in the bathrooms with matching guest tow- OW! That hurt!" He exclaimed as she smacked him over the head with a cushion.

"Good. Because if you don't knock it off, I won't let you stay in my moth-ball palace, even if you take your shoes off!"

They grinned at each other and Casey sat down heavily beside him.

"It's grim." She said sadly. Derek threw an arm around her.

"It's safe." He said.

* * *

**AN: A little touch of married life with Dasey before I go. I'm hoping I might get one more chapter written before I leave, but don't hold your breath!**


	16. Settling In

Grocery shopping sucked. Derek had never particularly liked it, except when his mom had let him choose the potato chips as a six year old. He glanced over at Casey and watched in tortured amusement as she frowned at some of the things he had placed in the cart and then replaced them back on the shelves.

"I wanted them." He protested.

"You don't need them Derek. They're expensive. We're on a budget."

"I could afford them when I was in Kingston." He said quietly. They were already good about not discussing where they were from, although their accents probably stuck out. That mattered very little, there were thousands of Canadians in New York.

"In Kingston, you were on a scholarship. Now we have to survive on the grant."

The "grant" was the meagre fund which paid for their living expenses. It was paid as part of the Witness Protection Programme because Derek's scholarship had become null and void when Derek was forced to leave. Casey would also not be able to work part time as she had done because they needed to minimise the amount of time they were apart so that the protection detail was as effective as possible. Money would be okay, but they couldn't afford to be extravagant.

"Besides, you need to eat more healthily. We can save money and take care of your health if I cook meals for both of us."

"Are you my wife or my mother?"

Casey shrugged. "I thought I was your worst nightmare." She said with a grin.

"Oh you're definitely that." He muttered just audibly.

It was the afternoon of the day they had arrived at their apartment and after their bodyguard had gone, Casey had walked around the apartment taking a mental inventory of what they had.

Derek had walked straight to the fridge.

"We need to go shopping!" They said simultaneously. Derek scratched his head.

"I guess this is where we start to miss having a car." He moaned.

Casey nodded. "We'll just go to the local convenience store now and then when we know a little more about what we need we'll go to a Wal-mart or something and get a cab back."

So here they were in "Mario's Market", a small family-run grocery store around the corner from their apartment. "Mario" it appeared was the Italian man of about fifty who leaned proprietarily over the counter at the front of the shop. He looked small and frail, but Derek suspected that he had at least a baseball bat under the substantial counter. Mario was clearly no fool – the cash register was bolted to the desk.

Derek threw some deodorant into the shopping cart, for once making a note of the price and wishing he had done so previously. It appeared his normal deodorant was the most expensive of the lot. This time he ditched it for a cheaper brand and noted Casey's genuine smile as she noticed what he'd done.

"Thank you." She said. Derek looked away because even if he was glad he'd done it, it was slightly embarrassing to prove Casey right.

The rest of the shopping followed a similar pattern. The things that Derek put in the cart were generally cheaper versions of what he would normally buy. He left the food choices up to Casey.

"What potato chips would you like?" She asked at the end. Derek looked up in surprise.

"I thought we were on a budget?"  
"We are, but that doesn't mean we can't have one treat each."

He picked up a bumper pack of his favourite chips, tossed them in the cart and they headed for the counter and Mario.

The store owner it appeared was friendly and talked to all of his customers. He flirted with the women and exchanged sports banter with the guys and they all liked him. It took a little while for Derek and Casey to be served as he had a couple of regulars at the front of the queue which led to an extended conversation about nephews, nieces and the price of good mozzarella. Neither Derek nor Casey felt in a hurry so they regarded the exchanges going on in front of them with amusement rather than irritation. Mario eventually looked up at the growing queue and turned to shout behind him.

"Hey! Luigi. Get your ass out here!"

Derek snorted in amusement as a figure appeared reluctantly from the back of the shop and started to serve the couple in front of them. Mario finished his own transaction and nodded to Derek to move forward. Derek was still smirking when he reached the counter. Mario caught the raised eyebrow.

"His real name is David, but with a brother with a name like Mario, what sort of nickname did you think he would get?" he explained with a laugh.

Later as they left the store and headed home, Derek asked,

"What did you choose?"

Casey frowned, unsure what he meant.

"What treat did you choose?" Derek asked.

"Oh. Chocolate." She said with a small smile. "I couldn't resist."

He rolled his eyes at her predictability, and approached the front of their building.

Derek stopped to scratch his nose before he went into the entrance and that's when he spotted it: a block down across the street, a non-descript beaten up old van with painted-over windows. Evidently, their new bodyguards were already in place.

* * *

They were used to living together. They had been under the same roof for so many years now that the sharing a living space thing was nothing new to them. Derek understood Casey and her _routines_. Casey acknowledged Derek and his _chaos_ theory. Sharing the apartment was actually not too bad an experience. They developed eating habits along the lines of Casey cooking and Derek reluctantly washing the dishes.

He did it though, because he liked the food to appear in front of him.

They took turns in doing the laundry too – well Derek assumed it was turns. Casey would periodically empty the laundry basket in his lap while he was watching TV. He was fairly certain by now it was Casey-speak for "do the laundry, jerk." Not that laundry was an onerous task. To avoid either of their charges being required to sit in the dark, lonely laundry room in the apartment block basement, the FBI had thoughtful squeezed in a washer/dryer. It was the only luxury.

Grocery shopping involved going out and about in their neighbourhood, and in situations like that there was safety in numbers so they did it together. It also helped because everything they bought had to be carried and it was easier with two of them. Derek nicknamed the process "Mario-Karting". Casey had rolled her eyes and asked him not to flatten or "dump-over" any of the other shoppers. She had also pointed out that as a newly-wed chatting up "Peaches" in the frozen goods aisle was unacceptable.

There was one area which was a bone of contention [excuse the pun] in their new reluctantly-wedded bliss…the bed.

There was only one bed, and though they had tried long and hard, they could not find a way to fit another one in. Not even two singles. Nor was the sofa much use as it sagged in the middle and couldn't provide enough comfort for a catnap in front of the TV. There was no alternative but for them to share the bed.

Casey viewed the situation with chagrin. Derek could tell she had spent most of the first twenty four hours they lived in the apartment pondering how she could get out of having to sleep next to him. Derek, himself, was ambivalent about it all, although he probably wouldn't have used that exact word. He had slept beside her before in the last hotel room before New York. It hadn't been uncomfortable then so why not share the bed now? It wasn't like anything was going to happen.

The second night in the small home his neutral stance was rudely interrupted by the sight of something weird in the bed as he was about to climb in. It was a long lump running its length, dividing the bed in two – and reducing it's width by nearly a third – a fact which was critical in an already small bed.

"What's that?" Derek asked his smug wife who was already sitting on her side, reading.

"It's a make-shift bolster." She said without looking up. Derek frowned and pulled back the covers to look. The "bolster" in question was what looked like three pillows, rolled lengthways to form a long cylinder down the bed. The pillows were kept restrained in their rolls by a series of scarves and belts tied around them.

"A what?!" Derek asked in disbelief.

"It's an old fashioned pillow." Casey said looking up. "In the old days, people used to use them to separate the bed if they had to sleep next to someone they didn't want to."

Her reply to his question was delivered with an attitude of determination, QED even.

Derek glanced up at the ceiling (noting in passing a shadow in the corner and hoping it wasn't damp).

"Why me?!" he pleaded with a higher power. Then he leant forward, picked up the "bolster" and threw it on the floor.

"Der-ek!"

He didn't acknowledge Casey, just climbed into bed beside her.

"No bolster, Casey. I mean it." He was wearing that rarely seen "don't fuck with me" look. "I'm not going to take advantage of you for Christ's sake! Believe me babe, there's a chasm bigger than the Colorado's between your side of the bed and mine. The thought of sex with you…" he pulled a face and then turned away. He switched off the light on his side of the room and lay down.

Casey blinked. But she said nothing. Instead, she reached for her own light and slipped further under the covers, grateful that he couldn't see her face in the dark.

It took a long time for sleep to come for both of them. Casey wasn't exactly sure why Derek's words had rankled so much, but they had. She guessed that in the end, no one likes to know that they aren't attractive to someone else, even if the feeling was totally mutual. She knew Derek had said something different before but that was because he was trying to talk himself out of an awkward situation. This time she knew he was being honest. She shifted uneasily under the sheets and the movement disturbed the air in the room so that she became vividly aware of Derek's new scent: the new deodorant less "pungent" than the old one, reminding her strangely of her childhood. She wondered if it was a similar scent to the one her grandfather had worn; a gentle sandalwood which seemed less chemical. It was ironic that the cheaper deodorant had a better smell. Maybe she should tell Derek to stick with this one in future. It melded with the scent of his skin and comforted her.

She blushed, unseen in the dark. She definitely wouldn't be admitting that anytime soon! Sighing at herself, she turned her back to him and settled down to sleep.

When they did fall asleep they slept well, perhaps both aware that now there was nothing else to make this whole situation awkward. They had covered all the bases; dealt with all the trials. It was time to just get on with the process of studying so that life could return to normal. Their marriage was just a piece of paper. They remained Derek and Casey.

A week after they moved to New York, the new semester was due to start. Derek and Casey needed to register and then continue their studies. It was new but at the same time, it would be familiar. Going back to being a student would be good. There would be no surprises.

Yeah…right…

* * *

**AN: Volcanoes… Anyone seen that film "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"? That was my weekend! (Only my travelling companions were better!) What should have been a two hour flight turned into a 31 hour farce which cost £1000 ($1500). But we are lucky because we got home. 150,000 Brits are still stuck in Europe.**


	17. Frat Guy and Leggy Blondes

Someone had tried to redecorate the office to make it look more presentable, but it still looked the same as any other administration office. And the guy on the desk looked the same as any other college senior drafted in with the promise of extra cash for doing the odd bit of filing – or maybe the promise was more along the line of working off a punishment for some indiscretion or other. Derek looked at him through narrowed eyes and saw the cocky twist to his mouth, the expensive clothes and the calculated rugged looks.

He would go along with the latter theory.

It was the first day of the new semester and he and Casey were presenting themselves ready to sign up for their new classes. Fortunately, the course materials in their classes were similar to back home, so they had been able to perform an almost like-for-like swap. But before all of that could begin they had to pick up their schedules and directions.

Casey was in front of him, skinny jeans and long sleeve t-shirt coupled with a long sleeveless button up sweater which fell below her knees. It wasn't an outfit he was exactly used to seeing her in, but he kind of liked it. She raised a hand to run it through her hair as she waited, and her wedding ring flashed in the light. Derek smiled and then frowned, wondering why the sight of the gold band on her finger was reassuring.

"Next!" The frat-guy called and Casey bounced forward.

"Casey Venturi." She announced. Frat guy looked up and his eyes widened. Derek rolled his eyes as he saw the smirk cross the idiot's face.

"Well _hello_ beautiful." The blond haired frat king oiled.

Derek stepped up behind Casey.

"That's _Mrs_ Venturi to you, wise ass!" He hissed.

The frat boy turned his head to say something cutting in reply and looked up into the brown eyes of the well-built ex-college hockey player – Derek was wearing an old Leafs hockey shirt and it looked _right_ on him, like he belonged in it.

The guy behind the desk coughed and became abruptly impersonal, searching for Casey's details and then handing her a large envelope filled with papers. She thanked him and stepped to one side to make way for Derek.

"Name?" The guy said in a harsh tone.

"Derek Venturi. _Mr_." Derek said. "Her husband."  
Casey giggled beside him and Derek threw her a dirty look.

The frat guy snorted and fished Derek's paper work out.

"Newly weds huh?" He said in a New England accent.

Derek glared at him then leant forward. "If you were lucky enough to go to bed every night with someone as beautiful as that, wouldn't you put a ring on it?"

They stared at each other. Then the guy raised both hands toward Derek, palm outwards.

"Sorry Dude, it's a gut-reaction. You know, see beautiful woman, turn on the charm?"

Casey leant forward. "Believe me. He understands better than you might think." Then she turned on her heels and walked towards the door. "Coming, Darling?"

"After you, honey. Always after you." Derek retorted. He was getting good at this acting lark.

Outside, when the door closed behind them she spun round and hissed.

"Just cut out the peeing up the wall contest Derek. You'll blow everything if you draw attention to yourself."

"I'd draw more attention to myself if I didn't react to someone trying to hit on my wife."

She stepped closer. "React. Don't Over-react. You came across as a caveman in there." She snorted. "All…'No one touches my _woman_.' You think I don't know how to do put-downs?"

"Judging by some of the jerks you've dated, no…I don't."

"Ass-hole."

"Keener."

"Moron."

"Klutzilla."

"Lunch?" She grinned at him, enjoying their return to form. The heat had gone out of the argument.  
"Yeah. What time you finish?"

Casey fished in her envelope and withdrew her schedule. "12.00. You?"

Derek did likewise, glanced at it before folding it in four and sticking it in his back pocket.

"You'll lose that." Casey said softly.

"Nag me at home, woman, not here. I have a rep to build."

She laughed. "You don't want to be seen as hen-pecked? Classic."

"Listen Mrs Venturi…" but he didn't finish because at that moment the frat boy emerged from his office and Derek turned the "ticking off" finger he had aimed at Casey into a lunge which left his fingers combing their way through her hair and his lips firmly planted on hers.

Casey gasped against him and he used the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. He stepped into her personal space and allowed his free hand to encircle her waist.

"Appearances." He murmured a while later when he let her go. "We had an audience." He released her totally, jerked his head to the right. "I'll see you over there at 12."

And then he was gone, leaving Casey standing speechless on the sidewalk.

* * *

"Is this seat taken?"

Casey glanced up into the face of a pretty blonde girl and smiled.

"No. Feel free."

The girl grinned. "Thanks. I'm trying to avoid that guy over there and if I sit on my own he'll definitely come and join me."  
Casey smiled. "Ex-boyfriend?"

The girl laughed and it was an attractive laugh. "He wishes. No. Just my own personal puppy dog. He was in a couple of my classes last semester and I made the mistake of having coffee with him once. Now he thinks that he's my best friend."

Casey looked concerned, but the blonde shook her head.

"Oh nothing serious, believe me. I have a very large brother. No one bothers to stalk me." She frowned. "Of course sometimes he chases away the good guys too."  
Casey chuckled. "I have one like that too. It took me two years of high school to realise that half the male population of the school didn't dare come near me."  
"Did you date anyone?"

"Yes. But only the ones brave enough to cross him, and then they were all ridiculously well behaved."

"Does he get on with your husband?"

Casey blinked.

The blonde looked apologetic. "Sorry. I have an eye for detail and you're wearing a wedding ring."  
"Does he get on with my brother…? Yes. I guess you could say that." She paused and held out her hand. "I'm Casey by the way. Casey Venturi."

"Penny. Penny Black." Casey gaped. Penny giggled.

"I know. My parents must hate me right?" She reached into her bag for her notebook. "Dad's a cycling enthusiast and Mom's a historian who specialises in Victorian England. What more can I say?"

They laughed together and then the tutor arrived and they turned their attention to what was being said.

Later when the class had ended, they discovered that they shared the next class too and decided to walk together. Casey liked Penny and it became evident by the end of the second class that the feeling was mutual. So as the time approached for Casey to meet Derek she decided to invite Penny along too.

"I'm meeting Derek for lunch now. Do you want to join us?"

"Derek?"  
"My lesser half."

Penny grinned. "Sure. So long as he won't mind." Casey thought about that for a moment and then realised that in view of the fact that Penny bore a striking resemblance to several girls her husband had dated in high school, Derek would definitely not mind. Casey wondered suddenly why she did.

"Derek won't mind." She said quietly and linked her arm through her new friend's and led her off to the small diner Derek had indicated earlier.

Derek was in a booth in the corner pondering the menu. It was priced to cater for poor students so he was pleased at the amount of food that was in his budget. He sighed inwardly. His wife's penny-pinching was definitely getting to him.

And then there she was…Casey standing in front of him looking pretty hot and he felt the instinctive rush of pride that his ring on her finger brought, followed by the cold reality check of the circumstances and the truth of the lack of her regard. He saw she wasn't alone and launched into his acting routine, standing up and pulling Casey to him for a kiss.

"Hi babe. Miss me?"

"I live for the time we spend together, honey." She replied trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Derek grinned. Casey forgot herself for a moment and then turned to Penny.

"Penny, this is my husband, Derek. D this is Penny Black."

"I bet you're sick of all the jokes." Derek smiled politely. Penny nodded.

"It could be worse. I have a male cousin whose first name is Jacob."

Derek looked blankly at her. Casey laughed.

"Let me guess, everyone howls at him?"

"Yeah." Penny chuckled. "He's got blonde hair and blue eyes as well."

"Am I missing something here?" Derek complained.

Casey sat beside him and patted the back of his hand. "It's a Twilight reference, D. You remember? That book you tried to burn after your ex compared you to Edward Cullen?"

Derek did remember. It was a truly painful episode which he was trying to erase from his brain. His ex had had a slight screw loose it appeared. She had wanted him to wear a phial of her blood around his neck and wanted him to provide her with some of his own for her own pendant. Casey had arrived at his dorm room one night to find him cowering under his bed…and she hadn't let him forget it either. The girl still called him every now and then talking about destiny and shit. He wondered what she would make of his new relationship status.

"Can we just drop this please?" He asked testily.

"Sure thing hun. What are you having to eat?" Casey grinned. Derek scowled and Penny frowned.

"I'll tell you later." Casey mouthed across the table.

Lunch was good, and Casey cheerfully announced they would make do with sandwiches for tea. Derek groaned.

"Are you trying to keep me perpetually hungry?"  
Casey ignored him and started to discuss the rest of the schedule for the week with Penny. It appeared they had chosen very similar subjects because they were in nearly every class…except the one that Casey shared with Derek. Throughout the chatting, Casey watched Derek's reaction to her friend with bemusement. She knew he must find the girl attractive, but she saw none of the usual signs. He was evidently a better actor than she gave him credit for.

Later that night as they lay in bed, she said quietly.

"Penny's a nice girl."

Derek was flicking through a film magazine wondering why he felt like he was forty right at this moment. He decided it had something to do with the fact that he was reading in bed with his _wife_.

"Yes. She is." He said absently, his mind on other things.

"Very pretty."

"Hmm." He said, not listening to her.

Casey sighed and reached for the light beside her.

"I'm going to sleep." She announced. "Night."

"Night." He replied absently.

Five minutes later, she was asleep. He looked at her with a smile. The truth that neither of them realised was that he hadn't noticed Penny because he was too busy looking at Casey.

* * *

**AN: To all my reviewers who expressed sympathy and gratitude for my safe return home after the Great European Ash Disaster…thank you. Especially as it appears most of you know at least two people in the same boat. I hope your friends/relatives/acquaintances have a safe trip home now that the restrictions have been raised.**

**[P.S. I'm writing three stories at the same time, but only publishing one, so if I go quiet you know why!]**


	18. Liberties

It was nice to be warm again rather than over hot in the desert or ridiculously cold in the snow. Derek knew it would be warmer at home these days but it was two months since he had last been in Canada and when he had left there was still ice on the ground. Springtime in New York was quite pleasant especially on days like today which were almost balmy. It made the fact he had been forced to get up unreasonably early for his morning classes just that little bit more palatable. Of course, now he had a two hour gap before the next class and Casey would say he should be in the library or something, but he liked the sun and had accepted Jazz's idea of chilling in the quad easily.

The four guys were propped up around the tree in various positions and poses. Three were trying to look nonchalant but "hot" in the hope of gaining some female attention. Derek was just leaning back against the rough bark, resting a notepad on his knees. He was sketching. This was something new for him, something he had started doing since they arrived in New York. There was something about the architecture here. He just wanted to draw it all the time.

"I love the warm weather," Carl stated, echoing Derek's earlier thoughts. "Especially when it's hot enough to start the tankini season." He nodded towards a couple of girls who were walking along a nearby path. They had skinny jeans on with what were clearly tankinis although they had thrown thin bolero sweaters over the top.

The other three guys snickered.

"I like the shorts season myself." said Mel. "Skinny jeans are okay, but you can't really tell the quality of the contents. I like my legs bare."

Jazz met Derek's eyes with a grin. The latter smirked. _Predictable. _Jazz was single, but slightly less aggressive about it than the other two singletons. He was a nice guy and fast becoming one of Derek's best friends.

"What about you Jazz?" Carl asked.

"I'm a whole package guy. I mean what's the point of a tankini top if the shorts reveal legs with lines like a subway map? Why go for cute pins if the top half is like two raisins under a sheet?"

"D?" Carl asked.

Mel snorted. "No point in asking Derek. He's not allowed to look."  
Derek chuckled at the reference to his relationship status. "I can look."

Jazz raised an eyebrow. "Does Casey know that?"

"I can look, I just can't touch." Derek protested.

"Man! What were you _thinking_?!" Mel asked shaking his head. "I mean, I could understand if she was knocked up, but to volunteer for a lifetime of torture at our age…" Mel was convinced that marriage was for old people or those who would have very few chances at getting laid and needed to bag one before their spouse realised they were onto a looser. Derek was neither.

Derek smiled. He had heard all this before.

Jazz stepped in. "You haven't met Casey."

"Seriously? She's that good? Tankini or shorts?"

Jazz put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Basque and garters." He said in a distracted voice. Derek nudged him with his foot.

"Hey! Less of the fantasising about my woman!" Jazz's suggestion had planted an image in Derek's mind that whilst not negative as such scared the living shit out of him. He really did not need a mental picture of his step-sister in a basque and garters. He snorted internally. That would be step-sister slash wife.

"Oooh. Check out the blonde!" Carl hissed cutting across Derek's mental self-reprimand. "Pink cami and matching hot pants."

"Don't bother." Mel said. "She's sleeping with the girl that's standing next to her."  
"How do you know that?"

"I crashed and burned last semester." Mel admitted. "But that over there, now that…"  
"Which one?"

"The Thai chick. Hmmm…Maybe I should go and introduce myself."

Carl laughed and pointed. "Who to? Her or her boyfriend?"

"Shit!" Mel exclaimed. "Where did all the good ones go?"

Derek tuned out the banter that was going on. He liked these guys but they talked _the talk_ a little too much. He had been this way only a few weeks ago, but things were different now. Whatever the reasons behind the event, Casey _was_ his wife and he had been brought up to respect the institution of marriage. Even when his parents' own marriage was failing, they never disrespected each other. Of course this all meant that for the time being, Derek was going to be celibate. He shifted uncomfortably under the tree, even the thought made him wince.

"Where are you off to?" Carl called after Mel who had suddenly leapt up.

"Angel at 6 o'clock. I'm not waiting this time. Gotta strike while the iron is hot." Came the reply shouted over his shoulder. The other three looked up in the direction their friend was heading.

"He isn't, is he?" Jazz said gasping in disbelief. Derek laughed loudly, sitting up and putting his sketch book down for a better view.

"Yeah. He is." The laughter grew between them.

Jazz elbowed Derek. "Aren't you going to warn him?"

Derek shook his head. "Nah…He'll find out. The last time I got territorial she bit my head off. She'll cope."

Carl frowned. "Warn him about what?" He said, sitting up.

Jazz chuckled. "Mel's about to chat up Derek's wife."

.

Casey was with Penny. The two girls had discovered a shared love of the written word, and had taken to studying together between the classes they shared, be it Modern Literature or Journalism. Penny was slightly more of a keener than Casey if that was possible, or maybe it was just that years of living with Derek had watered down Casey's studying habits. It had been Penny who suggested they go and study this morning. It was Casey who suggested they did so outside.

They crossed the quad and were looking for a good spot when the curly haired guy appeared in front of them.

"Just when I thought the day couldn't get any lovelier, I bump into you beautiful ladies." He grinned at them. Casey rolled her eyes. Penny giggled.

"Does that line normally work?" Casey asked arching an eyebrow. She'd lived with Derek and dated Truman too long to be impressed by chat up lines.

Mel didn't miss a beat. "It made you talk to me didn't it?"  
Casey sighed. That particular one was so _tired_. "You're wasting your time. I'm not interested."

"Aw! You haven't heard what I'm offering yet."

"I think what you're offering is abundantly clear." Casey snapped back. Penny felt her arm grabbed as Casey pushed past Mel and started to lead her away. Mel darted in front of them again making Casey pull up short.

Sensing he wasn't making much progress, he glanced over his shoulder at his three friends hoping he wasn't going to crash and burn in front of them. The brunette in front of him followed the direction of his glance and her eyes widened.

"Did you get put up to this?" She asked sharply.

"What? No. You're beautiful. I collect beautiful things."  
"Oh _Please_!" Casey said, pushing past him and striding purposefully over to the tree. She stopped just in front of Derek and folded her arms.

He chuckled and held his palms out in front of him. "Nothing to do with me, Babe. He really is that naïve." He said and then pulled himself to his feet, stepping towards her and catching her waist with his hands. He rested his lips against her ear, whispering.

"Honestly, Case. He was off and at you before I could say anything. Don't freak."

Casey looked up at him, but she saw nothing to say he was lying. She relaxed in his grip. Recognising the danger of her hitting him had receded Derek decided to play to the audience. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted it upwards, watching Casey's eyes carefully the way one watches a dog just before you lean down to retrieve a ball, but all he saw was amusement. She knew what was coming so he kissed her.

It no longer surprised her when he decided that they should kiss because someone was watching them.

Still, she wasn't sure she would ever get used to the sensations his lips on hers engendered. The kiss was more than a peck but didn't involve tongues, and she was gratefully for that. When Derek _really_ got into a kiss, Casey had a tendency to lose her focus.

"Hi." She said softly when he pulled away.

"Hi yourself." Derek replied and after a second's pause tore his eyes from her and turned to watch Penny and Mel as they came closer, his arm sliding unconsciously around Casey's shoulders. "You hitting on my wife?" He asked Mel. Mel shrugged.

"You never told me." The curly haired guy was defensive.  
"You never asked." Derek chuckled, deciding to let it go. "Mel, Carl, this is Casey. Hands off!"

Casey butted his side, evidently annoyed that he would be possessive again. He butted her playfully back before planting a kiss on her cheek. Casey glared at him but Penny broke the tension.

"Hi Derek. Enjoying the sunshine?"

"Yeah. We've got a couple of hours study time. You wanna join us?" Penny looked at the four attractive guys and then at Casey…pleadingly. _Another keener bites the dust_.

Casey sighed. "Go on then."

Derek smirked and sliding his arm from her shoulders he sat down. Casey knew she was expected to sit beside him, but it still didn't come naturally to _want_ to be with Derek. She took her place and stiffened slightly as he looped his arm back around her.

"Jesus sis! Relax!" He hissed in her ear, so low the other's couldn't hear.

She rounded on him, fire in her eyes.

"Don't call me that!" She said, forgetting they weren't alone.

Jazz chuckled. "Derek even you should know not to use the same terms of endearments for more than one woman."

Casey's eyes widened. "What do you mean, more than one woman?"

Derek's friend stopped laughing. "I thought he called you by his pet name for his ex." He looked confused. Casey looked suspiciously at Derek. Her husband shrugged.

"Nah. I called her by one of the nicknames she doesn't like. Jeez Man, you trying to get me the sofa?" He pulled Casey back into him. "Babe. Don't go getting jealous. He didn't mean there was someone else." He was trying to say something with his eyes but there were so many layers to this conversation, Casey was confused. She leaned back but she wasn't comfortable…and she wondered why.

.

They stayed there chatting easily as a group; Mel and Carl quickly trying their hand at picking up Penny. Casey noted however that it was Jazz catching her friend's eye – and on a couple of occasions she caught him returning the gaze.

She leant back against the tree and unintentionally back into Derek arms. He was chatting to Jazz about some group that was playing the Union the following week. He wasn't looking her way, but as her body connected with his, he unconsciously tightened his grip on her. Casey frowned but she didn't move away.

Being this close to Derek was distracting. Casey wasn't sure that she disliked it, but it was certainly unnerving. It wasn't quite in the league of the Great Honeymoon Disaster, but all the same… Given a choice, Casey would have moved away from him, because being close to him clouded her judgement and mind. She couldn't. They needed to maintain the fiction. However, after an hour or so, she stood up, breaking his grasp on her.

"I…erm…need something to eat before my next class." She said in a blurt.

"Sure." Derek replied, frowning. He wondered what was up with Casey. It couldn't be good, and part of him sighed inwardly. He had a feeling he would be dealing with this when they got home tonight.

Penny glanced at Jazz reluctantly, but she was loyal to Casey and stood up.

"I should…erm…"

"Yeah." Jazz replied.

Derek caught the look between them and smirked. Then he looked across at Casey and frowned. She looked unhappy. He stood up and moved towards her.

"I'll see you at home?" He asked tentatively.

"Of course." Short, sharp, pointed.

"Case…" He started.

"Not now, Derek."

He closed his eyes. He hated _scenes_ and Casey was a master at creating them.

"This had better not be about Jazz's stupid comment." He said quietly.

"It isn't." She said quietly. "I'll see you tonight.

He watched her walk away with her friend, and knew that something was very badly off. And the temptation to stay out all night was very strong.

But, as he watched his wife move from him, he saw her pass a bench in the park, and one of the occupants stood and stretched and then began to leisurely stroll out of the park in the same direction. It was a completely relaxed movement with nothing to cause concern or suspicion.

But Derek knew.

The figure following Casey was Angelo.

And suddenly, he remembered just _exactly_ why he was married to his confusing stepsister.

Tonight's argument…because he knew that's what it would be…meant nothing. He wasn't going anywhere.

Casey was his wife for a reason…and nothing would change that…not even his step-sister.


	19. RICE

He went straight home after his last class, knowing that leaving it later would just prolong the inevitable, and Casey would have worked herself up into a frenzy as it was. He walked passed one of the non-descript vans which he had become so good at identifying but there was nothing to see. It wasn't until he crossed the street and opened the entrance door to his building glancing over his shoulder as he did so that he saw Angelo climb into the van. That meant Ronald was with Casey. He wondered when he and Ronald had switched charges.

Derek let himself into their apartment and smiled slightly as he always did when he arrived home these days. The place looked nothing like it had when they first moved in because Casey had made him change furniture around and even got him to help her paint some of the walls with some cheap paint she had managed to find. She had bought plenty of white and then this hideous green colour, but in a ingenious move which he would never have thought of she had proceeded to mix the white and green together and even he had to admit it looked good; especially when coupled with the throws she had picked up from a thrift shop.

It looked modern and inviting. Casey had made their apartment a home.

Derek made for the kitchen area, dumping his bag on the couch before crossing the short distance to the fridge and opening the door to investigate the contents. The fridge was full but he knew that everything would get used. Casey was also pretty good at planning the shopping – and keeping him fed. About two weeks into their life in New York he had asked her why she was so accommodating of his stomach and she had laughed and explained that he was more docile when fed. Then she had waited until he'd finished his sandwich before telling him that she needed him to move the couch across the room again.

He snickered as he built himself a sandwich. All in all, Casey wasn't a bad wife at all. She let him be who he needed to be, and do what he needed to do – within reason. The only thing that really stopped this from feeling real was the obvious lack of sex. And of course the fact that they felt nothing for each other.

.

He was tucking into the sandwich sitting on the couch watching baseball re-runs when Casey arrived. He heard her key in the front door, and though he knew it was only her he still tensed. Sometimes it was possible to forget the cloud under which he and his wife lived. Today was not one of those times.

The door opened forcefully, and made him jump. It was so unlike Casey that he immediately knew that something was wrong. Sure enough the first person through the door was Angelo, closely followed by Ronald helping a sobbing Casey.

Derek was up and out of the chair in a flash, sandwich and ball game forgotten.

"What happened?"

Angelo shrugged and looked at his colleague who also had a confused look on his face. "I don't know. She just came hobbling down the street looking like this. We decided to get her inside rather than cause a scene."

Derek by this time had swiftly removed Casey from their grip and was holding her, his fingers brushing the hair from her face where the tears had made it stick. Her sobs grew worse, and he noticed her face once revealed was covered in smudged make-up and snot.

"Case?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes flashed up to his. "Does it look like I'm _freaking _okay, dummass?!" She snapped. She muttered something about him screwing with her life and winced as she tried to pull away from him. He looked across at Ronald.

"You were following her?" The agent nodded.

"I followed her into the union on campus and she went into the upstairs ladies room. When she emerged back downstairs I thought she looked a bit flushed, and was hobbling, but I knew you'd had…erm…words earlier and so I thought nothing of it. I followed her onto the bus until we got to the end of the street, but I didn't see what state she was in until Angelo leapt out of the van asking me what the hell was wrong."  
"I could see her face, Ronald couldn't." The other agent explained.

Derek leaned down to Casey again who was still fighting his close proximity. "Okay, you need to tell me what's going on right now, Casey, before I lose the fucking plot okay? Did you get attacked? Did someone hurt you? Is this about Lizzie?"

Casey snorted. "The whole _freaking_ world revolves around _you_ Derek! I thought you knew that by now." The vitriol in her voice surprised him and he let go of her allowing her to move away.

"_Me_?" He asked, puzzled. He had known there would be repercussions of Jazz's little comment in the Quad, but this seemed a bit of an extreme reaction – and it didn't explain the hobbling.

"Mrs Venturi. Does this have anything to do with your case?" Angelo asked, cutting through the sobbing and becoming business-like. Derek glared at him.

"No. This is all Derek." Casey said her voice a strange mixture of strength and weakness.

Derek sighed. Angelo was going to make it worse and Ronald was no help whatsoever. "Look guys. Why don't you leave this with me and if there's anything you need to get involved with I'll call you, okay? I think Casey needs to shout at me in peace."

"What did you do?" Ronald asked.

"I've no idea." Derek admitted. "But I know Casey and I know that I need to talk to her alone."

Angelo nodded, slapped Ronald on the back and led the way to the door.

"Deal with it Venturi." He said as he opened the door. Derek nodded.

"Will do."

The door slammed behind them.

Derek turned to Casey.

"Casey…"

"I bet you're loving this." She said cutting across him. "I bet you love the idea that I would cry over _you_."

Her words made him angry, but the sight of her standing against the back of the couch, her foot raised off the ground and tears tumbling down her cheeks, almost broke him.

"I don't understand, Casey." He said. "So why don't you stop with the shit storm and start talking in clear logical sentences so that I can work out what I'm guilty of."

She ignored him.

"…I mean. As if this morning's enlightening comment wasn't enough…" She said, shifting uncomfortably.

"I give up." Derek said, locking his jaw and moving across to her in a determined manner. He picked her up, ignoring her protests and carried her into the bedroom.

"Show me what's wrong with your ankle." He demanded as he deposited her without ceremony on their bed. She stared up at him, fire in her eyes refusing to move.

"Fine!" he stated. "I'll look for myself."

But when he bent to lift the leg of her jeans to inspect the foot, she gasped in pain. He'd seen enough though. Her ankle was puffy and the bruising was already developing.

"You need to go to the hospital." He said, running his fingers through his hair. Casey shook her head.

"It's a sprain. It feels like last time."

He frowned. Last time had been his fault too. Only then he had been present and understood the circumstances. Now…

"I'm going to get Angelo to send a medic to take a look." He stated. "But in the meantime, stay there."  
She leaned back against the pillows and listened to him moving around the apartment. He was talking on the phone to their agents, but he was doing something whilst he spoke. In a few minutes, he returned with an armful of different items.

"They're sending someone." He said. "But we need to sort this out now." Derek dumped the items on the bed. "Undo your jeans and lift your hips." He ordered.

"What?"

"Casey. You have tight pants on. Your ankle is swelling. If we don't take those pants off now you'll be stuck in them until your ankle gets better – or we'll have to cut them off. If it makes you feel better, I won't look."

She snorted, but she did as she was told. Derek helped her into a pair of long pyjama bottoms to cover her dignity. Once she was decent again, he pulled at the large spare comforter he had dropped onto the bed with the other items, and rolled it into a large cylinder.

"I'm going to lift your ankle." He said. "I'll try not to hurt it, but you tell me if it's too much." With that he grabbed the spare fabric of her pants leg and lifted it up, taking her leg and ankle with him, her eyes clouded with pain but she said nothing. He quickly slid the rolled up comforter under her ankle so that her leg was elevated and then gently lowered the pants leg down. The new position took some getting used to but eventually her eyes cleared of the pain. Derek picked up the towel and bag of frozen peas he had on the bed, wrapped the one in the other and carefully placed them on her foot.

Casey swore.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"No. It's cold." She said. Derek chuckled and perched beside her on the bed.

After a moment, Casey spoke. "That hurts less. But you're not off the hook."

"How did you do it?" He asked.

"I fell down a flight of stairs." She admitted reluctantly, waiting for the laughter she was sure would come. When it didn't she sighed.

"I know what you're thinking, but I wasn't being clumsy."

"I never said you were." Derek said, leaning back on his pillow, relieved that she seemed to have calmed down and reassured that she was starting to explain.

"I was being chased." Casey said quietly. "I ran and tripped. The staircases in that particular building are worn and dark."

Derek nodded, trying to stay calm at her revelation about why she tripped.

"Who was chasing you?"

Before Casey could reply there was a knock at the apartment door.

He climbed off the bed and went to look through the spy hole. It was Angelo and a woman he didn't recognise.

"The doc was in the next street on another call." Angelo explained as Derek opened the door. "I called her as soon as we left you. It was obvious she would need medical help." Derek nodded his agreement and stepped to one side to let the agent and the middle aged lady in.

"We think it's a bad sprain." He said. "I've made her lie down and elevated it." The Doctor followed him to the bedroom area and smiled at Casey.

"Hi. I'm Dr Marshall. Let's take a look shall we?"

.

Several painful minutes later, the verdict was passed.

"Well I think it's just a bad sprain, but I wished you would let me send you to hospital to check for a break."

Casey shook her head. The doctor sighed.

"Okay. Then I'll give you something for the inflammation and the pain." She handed Casey some tablets and a script which Angelo whipped out of her hands.

"I'll sort that." He said.

The doctor continued. "There's one dose for now and a script for the rest. I recommend that you keep it elevated like that for a couple of days before venturing out. I'll get someone to drop some crutches round." She looked up at Derek. "She needs to rest, don't let her walk on it."

Derek nodded. "I'll chain her to the bed if necessary."

The doctor laughed. Casey didn't.

"He's serious." She said.

"I don't care so long as you rest it." Dr Marshall said, taking her leave. Angelo made his farewells to Derek and Casey and left.

"I've got the doctor's permission to tie you up." Derek said smirking.

Casey raised an eyebrow. "And your purpose would be?"

Derek did a double take then recovered and tilted his head to one side. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" he sing-songed.

"Now. What's all this about being chased?"

* * *

AN: Sorry about slow updates. I think I've got Tonsillitis. Any one tell me the reason for the chapter title?


	20. Claudia

"_Casey? Are you okay?" Penny asked as they hurried away from the quad, from Derek and, annoyingly for Casey's friend…Jazz._

_Casey muttered something and sped up, but Penny was a loyal friend and said nothing, just increased her own speed to catch up._

_It wasn't until they were sitting in the empty room where their next class was due to take place that Penny tried again._

"_They were just joking Casey. Anyone with half a brain can see Derek is faithful to you."_

_Casey snorted. "The only person Derek Venturi is faithful to is himself." Penny looked taken aback. Casey never spoke about Derek like this in public. She might tease him or occasionally moan about some sort of infraction that had occurred at home, but she was never this disloyal to him – or as acerbic. What Penny didn't know was fifteen year old Casey had returned to find out she was married to the bane of her existence. And now it appeared he had broken his marriage vows. _

_It wasn't going to be pretty._

"_Casey. I know I haven't known Derek as long as you, but I have seen the two of you together a lot since you moved here and I have to say you are the most convincing case for marrying young I've ever seen. I doubt very much whether Derek has it in him to be unfaithful to you. He worships the ground you walk on. You should have seen the look in his eyes as you walked away from him. Besides, you spend so much time together when would he have time to be unfaithful?"_

_Rational Casey might have agreed with Penny on most of those points…except maybe the "worshipping" bit. She certainly knew that Penny was right about the amount of time they spent together, but this was Derek and he had probably been skipping class to meet up with whatever play thing he had adopted. She took comfort from one small piece of information, however, evidently Mr and Mrs Venturi had been doing a good job of behaving like a pair of newly weds because Penny had totally bought into the lie._

_She wasn't entirely sure why she was so upset about it all. She hadn't really expected him to go without sex for the duration of their marriage…had she? Still, the fact she had reacted this way lent verisimilitude to the whole cover story._

_But the thought that he had taken a lover still hurt._

_Casey sat through the remaining classes for the day listening and taking notes but recognising that she would need to re-read everything over tomorrow because she doubted she had taken anything in. At the end of the final class, she said good bye to Penny and started to make her way to the bus stop and home. Halfway to the main street, she realised she needed the bathroom and the closest place was the Union. She changed course abruptly to make the detour and noticed from the corner of her eye that Ronald was following her now. She frowned as she climbed the worn steps to the first floor room. He must have switched with Angelo while she was in History of Womankind._

_The bathroom was empty when she arrived and she nipped into a cubicle._

_While she was in there, she heard the exterior door open and close and then the voice of two girls._

"_Did you see the bitch?" One of the voices said. "She definitely came this way." _

_Another voice said, hesitantly. "Claudia, why don't you skip it? Ask him about it in Media II."_

"_I can't skip it. The heffer was all over him in the quad."_

"_Maybe she's his girlfriend."_

"_I'M his girlfriend. How many times do I need to tell you that? I'm the only girl he shows any interest in. He avoids everyone else."_

"_He doesn't avoid her."_

"_That's because she throws herself at him. Did you see it? It was disgusting. She's so…skanky."_

_The other girl sighed. "Claudia…"_

_Casey was rather intrigued. Evidently she and Derek weren't the only quad drama today. She finished in the cubicle, adjusted her clothing and her face into something neutral to cover her interest and opened the door. She immediately came face to face with a pleasant looking brunette who took one look at Casey widened her eyes and then her face settled into a look of panic. Casey frowned. She didn't recognise her._

_She hadn't seen the reaction of the other girl in the room, a large-chested blonde. Her hair colour was the only thing she had in common with Penny. This girl was an appropriate illustration of the term "skanky". Currently she was turning several shades of red at the same time._

"_You bitch!" The blonde, Claudia, stated stepping towards Casey. Casey took a step back but then recovered. She knew how to stand up to bullies, this girl was probably just covering for her lack of self-esteem. Casey moved to the sink and began to wash her hands carefully. As she did so, the conversation she had just heard replayed in her mind and Casey felt suddenly cold. No. Apparently, there had been only one drama in the quad this morning._

"_Stay away from Derek Venturi." Claudia hissed, stepping towards Casey again._

_Casey coughed politely. She wasn't easily intimidated. "I'm afraid I can't."_

"_Do you have a death wish?" Claudia asked ominously._

_Casey laughed, and the third girl thought it sounded genuine and rather attractive. She hated that her old school friend was doing this to someone who seemed so nice. She personally had seen nothing on Derek's part to make her think there was anything going on with Claudia, but her friend was adamant._

"_Yes. Apparently, being around Derek is somewhat akin to having a death wish."_

"_Stay away from my boyfriend, bitch!" Claudia said. Her friend put her hand on Claudia's arm._

"_Claudia, you don't…"_

_Casey sighed. "Claudia, is it? Erm…Look honey. I don't know what it is that you…erm…share with Derek Venturi, and quite frankly I don't care." The pain currently slicing Casey heart up into strips, belied that fact, but it didn't show on her face. "However, I can't do as you ask. You see I live with him. He's my husband. I'm Casey Venturi." She held up her left hand and flashed her ring at the girl in front of her._

_There was a very audible gasp from the other two occupants of the room. Claudia's friend's panicked look grew more defined. She seemed to trying to signal something to Casey. _

_But Casey didn't understand._

_That was until Claudia launched herself at her "rival" and started pulling her hair and scratching at her face. This time it was Casey's turn to gasp as the pain of being almost scalped hurt. She instinctively lashed out in what became a kick-boxing jab although not a particularly hard one and Claudia momentarily lost her grip._

_Casey took advantage of this and made for the main door, slamming it behind her as she fled. She ran for the stairs, her bag banging into her side as she turned a corner but then she slipped and tumbled down the entire worn stone flight to the ground floor._

_._

_For a moment, a glorious pain-free moment, Casey lay there, just cursing her clumsiness and Derek for, yet again, being the cause of it. Then reality and the pain set in, emotional and physical, and she started to cry._

_Fortunately, it appeared Claudia was being restrained in the ladies' room because though Casey could hear shouting from above, the door had not yet opened fully and there was no sound of footsteps down the stairs._

_A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek and she leant against the wall trying not to sob._

_Derek had been unfaithful to their marriage…to her. And she might have broken her ankle._

_._

_Eventually, she pulled herself to her feet and staggered from the stairwell. Her ankle hurt like a…Derek-curse. She emerged from the building hefting her bag over her shoulder, and she knew she should probably just find Ronald and get him to take her home. But right now, she didn't want to see anyone who knew her, not even the FBI agents. So instead she made her way to the bus stop, teeth biting lip against the pain._

_On the bus the parallels between what had just happened to her, and the Lizzie incident hit: the realisation that she had been able to get up and walk away where Lizzie hadn't, caused fresh tears. What with that and the rapidly swelling ankle she was sporting, by the time the bus reached her stop, the tears were coming thick and fast._

_Three hobbling steps from the bus, Angelo caught her._

* * *

Derek looked at Casey lying on the bed, her leg elevated and her face full of pain. The relation of her story had taken a while and before he could say anything in response, there was another knock at the front door signalling Angelo's return with the filled drug script. Derek took the paper bag from the agent on the door step. Angelo raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's not an FBI matter." Derek answered. "I'll handle it." Then he closed the door, bolted it and returned to Casey. They needed to talk about this before the horse pills the doctor had given her kicked in.

He placed the paper bag on the side in the kitchen and went back into the bedroom.

"I don't expect you'll believe me." He said softly, leaning up against the wall. "But she's lying. I don't have a girlfriend, I have a wife. And I may treat a lot of things and people like shit, but marriage isn't one of those things. My parents taught me to respect marriage, even when theirs failed, and I do respect it. Honestly, I never thought I would marry. I didn't think I could be responsible enough. I still don't, still probably won't marry…again…after...." He took a deep breath. "I married you because your life was in danger and I ca…" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Look Casey, I made you a vow. This may be a marriage of convenience, but in my book that wouldn't give me the right to be an unfaithful husband. Jazz's comments were about exes not currents. I've an idea who the girl is, but though I talk to her occasionally I've never made a move on her and I never would. Have you seen her? She's not exactly classy material."

Casey snorted, but though she was reluctant to admit it, she did know Derek and their past together meant she had a pretty good idea when he was lying. In fact, she had the well-developed skill of being able to call out on his lies.

He wasn't lying now.

.

Derek sat on the bed beside her.

"Honestly, honey." He said, lifting his fingers to brush her hair from her forehead like last time. But it was higher up than last time and this time she winced. Derek frowned and leaned closely.

"Ouch. She's really done a number on your scalp. You want a cold towel for that?"

Casey sighed and he took that as a sign that she did, returning moments later. Casey's eyes were starting to look tired now.

"The towel is going to make you feel cold." He said. "And you need some rest. I'll cover you with the comforter but leave your leg out, okay?"

"K…" Casey said. The painkiller was making her very drowsy now and soon she would be asleep, but first she needed to say something. She put a hand on Derek's arm as he moved the bedding and made her comfortable.

"D?"

"Hmm."

"I believe you."

* * *

She slept for six hours and it was dark outside and getting late when she eventually stirred. Derek had moved his armchair to a position in the apartment where he could watch both the TV and his wife as she slept, and he heard the gasp of pain as she became conscious.

"Hi Rip Van Winkle. Hungry?" He asked leaning over her.

"That depends. Did you cook?"

Derek smirked. "Yes. But it was only reheating one of your frozen tubs. There's another one left if you want it."

Casey relented. "Please."

"Okay. Back in a sec."

He returned with the food and more medication which she took with water. He propped her up and handed her the tray with the steaming plate of food she had cooked and frozen the previous week. That had been one of the ways Casey saved money, she bought the larger value for money packs of meat and then made big meals which could be frozen. She could get six portions out of a pack of beef meant for a family of four and it cost about a third as much as the "value" versions in the cheap frozen food shop – and Derek could testify they tasted a hell of a lot better.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after he had moved her empty plate and taken his place on top of the covers beside her.

"Battered and bruised." Casey admitted. "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"That you're faithful to me even if we don't…" Her voice trailed away in embarrassment.

"Yeah. This whole situation is complicated enough without me adding any more layers to it. Besides, to be honest, it's been a while since I've had regular sex so it's nothing new." Casey blushed. This was more information than she was sure she could deal with. Derek smirked.

"I can tell you where and when if you really want to know."

"No!" Casey said, raising her hands to her ears.

"Case. This is gonna come as a surprise but I'm actually responsible about that sort of thing."

"Can we change the subject?" She pleaded.

Derek laughed. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Who is Claudia?"  
The smile dropped from his face. "She's a girl in my Media II class. I sat next to her a couple of times, talked a bit. Evidently, she isn't very observant because she flirted with me a lot even thought I wear my wedding ring."

"She talked about you as though you were together."

"That's plain sick. My entire conversations with her probably total less than an hour."

"Maybe you've got a stalker." Casey said flippantly.

Derek looked thoughtful. "Don't joke. I might have a word with Angelo." He gingerly raised a hand to touch the damp hair on her head where the wet towel had been until she sat up to eat.

"Is this any better?"

Casey nodded. "Thank you."

Derek shrugged and dropped his fingers to take her hand, watching as she shuffled down in the bed.

"We should go to bed." He said quietly. Then realised what he had said. "I mean…"

Casey chuckled. "Go get ready."

He nodded.

Moments later, the apartment was in darkness and Derek was back beside her in the bed.

"When did you last speak to Nora?" He asked in the dark.

"It's been a while."

"Would you like me to ask Mac if you can speak to her tomorrow?"

Casey nodded and her eyes filled with tears. When she spoke her voice was broken.

"When I fell, I kept thinking about Lizzie." She sobbed.

Derek rolled onto his side, stretched an arm across her body and moved close to her.

"I know, princess. I know."

Casey's sobbing grew but they said nothing else. The medication claimed her again, the tension in her body relaxing as she fell into sleep. Feeling her relax in his arms and moving closer to her, soon Derek too let himself fall asleep.

* * *

AN: For those who didn't get it. R.I.C.E is a "first aid" acronym for how to treat sprained ankles. Rest Ice Compression Elevation. It's reassuring so many people did get it.

I wince every time some describes it as "only a sprained ankle", although I know that it is preferable to a broken ankle but sprained ankles really hurt. A couple of years ago I sprained both of mine falling down the stairs with my 17 month old. I dropped him, bounced on him twice and took out the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs which was screwed into the wall as I fell. Then I sat on top of the gate on the floor screaming my head off because I thought I had killed my son…who was lying halfway up the stairs also screaming his head off…so obviously still alive. Fortunately, my husband was home and could deal with it all but it was six weeks before I could walk properly and in that time we moved house! Still hurts in the cold weather too.

Anyway…moving swiftly on. You didn't honestly think Derek would cheat…did you?


	21. Paraphrenia

"Claudia Gift?"

The blonde girl looked up from her doodling and started as she came into eye contact two large men in dark suits and black shirts. Beside her, Conceptua O'Malley, 'pleasant-looking brunette' froze.

"Yes?" Claudia said, wondering if these men in front of her were from the college authorities and had heard about her unfortunate _incident_ in her dorm laundry which she could only put down to too much tequila and not enough clothes, or were they just looking for directions?

Yeah. Like they knew her _name,_ right?

The bigger and, frankly, better-looking of the two guys stretched his arm casually in such a way that his jacket fell back revealing a badge. Connie gasped as she focussed on the letters prominently displayed.

'FBI'.

"Ma'am, we're from the FBI. Do you know a Mrs Casey Venturi?"

_Oh shit!_ thought Connie for once forsaking her rigid Catholic convent schooling to employ her (black sheep) grandfather's Irish navvy vernacular. _They know about the bathroom incident!_

"I…erm…not really. I _know_ a Derek Venturi." Claudia said it in a certain _way_ and suddenly Connie wanted to smack her best friend upside the head because you do _not_ lie to the FBI, not even about Derek Venturi.

"Well ma'am, we have reason to believe you might be in danger." He lowered himself to the ground beside her and launched into his tale. "You see ma'am, Mrs Venturi is currently on our radar, so to speak."

"Oh?" Claudia looked surprised.

Connie looked shocked. Casey had seemed like a nice girl, and totally undeserving of her friend's ridiculous jealousy.

"Yes. She has a history of…erm…anger issues, particularly in regard to _Mister_ Venturi. What was the term the doc used?" Angelo looked up at his partner.

Ronald frowned. "Doc said it was something on the Paraphenia spectrum." He answered without emotion, and then reached into his pocket for a notepad, from which he quoted. "A rare form, not often heard of, but can be exhibited in families where a significant degree of inbreeding has occurred."

Angelo nodded. "The last seven generations of Casey's family have married their first cousins. In fact, Derek is actually the son of her mother's brother. Anyway, this is beside the point. Casey has previously shown a severe protectiveness towards her family."

Ronald nodded. "There was that incident with the P…B… in Nevada two years ago." He mumbled. Connie was sure the agent said _parcel bomb_.

"Agent! That was never proven!" Angelo rubbed his face with his hand. "She's particularly protective of her husband. Some might even say, _violently_ so."

Claudia blinked.

"I understand from a couple of your classmates that you are close to Mr Venturi." Angelo said, leadingly.

Claudia shook her head vehemently. "He's said, like fifty words to me. In passing - and most of those were class stuff like, 'did you get that last bit?'" Claudia told the truth about Derek for the first time. Ronald nodded.

"Fifty words, boss…not good."

"Miss Gift. If you're sensible, you'll stay away from the Venturis. The degree of violence Casey is liable to display is indeterminate at this point in time and we are closely advising anyone who comes into contact with her to stay away."

"Can't you send her to jail, lock her up or something?"

Angelo sighed. "Knowing what she's like and proving it are two different things, Miss. Besides, it's not only Casey. We have some suspicions regarding Mr Venturi as well. After all, they are _closely_ related." He stood up and smacked his partner on the back. "Come on Ronald. Time to go and speak to that freshman guy. The one who picked up Derek's books three days ago. If we're lucky we might be able to catch him before Casey does." Angelo led Ronald away, talking quietly to him as though preparing a strategy.

Claudia looked at Connie. "I…erm…have a headache. I'll see you back at the dorm."

Connie nodded and watched as her friend fled.

Turning slightly, she was surprised when Derek emerged from the bushes to her left. She gasped, but he was laughing.

"Did she buy it?" Derek asked, knowing from the odd word he had heard exchanged between Claudia and her friend outside class that the girl before him was a decent person.

Connie regarded him carefully. Unlike her friend, she was not stupid.

"Who were they?"

Derek shrugged. "I have friends in the drama department." He lied. "They owed me a favour."

"Is Casey really dangerous?" Connie asked. Derek chuckled even more.

"That is a matter of opinion. As far as Claudia goes, she has more to worry about with me, than my wife."

"Oh?"  
"Claudia made Casey run and she fell down the stairs. She's currently laying in our bed with an ankle the size of a grapefruit. I could have handled this, but I didn't trust myself not to do something I would regret. I was brought up not to hit women."

"Oh my goodness! Is she okay?"

Derek sighed, all amusement gone from his face. No. Casey wasn't okay. She was physically hurt and to make matters worse it was a similar incident to Lizzie's fall. She was suffering on two levels.

"She'll live. But if you value your friend, persuade her to stay away from us."

"I have been, but I'll try harder. I think your friends scared the heebee-geebees out of her."

Derek glanced off into the distance. "Good. I gotta go. I can't leave my wife for too long at the moment in case she needs the bathroom. I'll see you around." He said, already moving off.

* * *

"They did _what_?!" Casey screamed. "They told her that I was psychotic because my family was so _inbred_?????!!!! And you just stood by and let this happen?"

Derek coughed. Casey narrowed her eyes.

"This was your idea wasn't it?"

"I decline to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me." He admitted. Casey picked up his pillow from beside her on the bed and threw it at him.

"Derek Venturi, so help me, as soon as this ankle heals…" She trailed off warningly.

"You'll what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You'd better sleep with one eye open, husband." She warned softly.

He snorted. "Or you'll what?"

"Pink…or maybe blue." She mused. "And a perm. Definitely a perm."

Derek's eyes widened. "You wouldn't…"

"I so would." She smirked.

"I was protecting you." He protested.  
"By damaging my reputation."

"You don't have one, Casey. And neither do I anymore. We're just the crazy newlyweds, only now they think we're crazier than ever."

"They think _I'm_ crazy. No doubt they think _you're_ honourable for standing by me. I hate you!" She said, folding her arms and flopping back onto the pillows in a way that made her leg move, and her mouth wince.

"No actually. Angelo overstepped his remit and he told them we were both crazy…a result of our parents being descended from many generations of Venturi inbreeding." He leaned over her. "And we both know you don't hate me."

"Yah wanna bet?!" She said sitting up and nearly banging heads with him as he pulled abruptly away.

"You married me, didn't you?" He said, smirking at her from a safe distance. "That doesn't sound like hatred."

"I was coerced." She said, but the amusement was tugging at the corners of her mouth and he noticed the sparkle in her eyes. This was the game they both loved. He knew she couldn't care less that two random girls had been told by the FBI that she was crazy, because the thrill was the opportunity for them to have a verbal war. It had been a while, because they had both been trying to make the best of things since they got here. But they missed their repartee.

"Coerced my foot! You spent our wedding night with your head on my balls."

"Impossible Derek. You don't have any." She retorted.

Silence.

They gaped at each other in astonishment.

"Did I seriously just say that?" Casey said, shocked beyond belief.

Derek chuckled. "Yeah. You did. Wow Casey! Next you'll be all grown up and saying words like dick and pe-"

"Derek…" Casey interrupted with a warning tone. He ignored her.

"After all, that's where your head was really at!" Derek grinned.

"Der-ek!"

He dodged the pillow that flew towards him and left the room.

Much later that night, he reappeared in his pyjama pants with a t-shirt on top.

"Bathroom's free. You need to go?" He asked, standing there scratching his head. He knew she would need help because she had the previous night.

"I'm not talking to you." Casey replied, her arms crossing her chest and her head turned away.  
"Fine. Pee in the trashcan."

Derek replaced the discarded pillows on his side of the bed and pulled back the comforter.

Casey sat up. "I can make it to the bathroom without your help."

Her husband climbed into bed.

"Okay. See you in the morning. Night."

She threw back the covers, and swung her legs carefully round, then bracing herself, she reached for the crutches leaning up against the wardrobe. Casey was concentrating so much, her brow was creased with lines as she managed to grab the crutches and eventually start to manoeuvre herself towards their tiny bathroom.

"Ha!" She said in triumph when she reached the door. He heard her across the apartment.

Derek, his attention apparently on his car magazine sighed and started to count.

"5…4…3…2…1."

_Crash!_

"Der-ek! Help!"

He tossed the magazine to one side and leapt out of bed.

"Every damn time." He stated.

* * *

"Did she look afraid?" Casey asked later in the dark when they were both _relieved_ and ready for bed.

"Who?" Derek asked matching Casey's hushed tone.

"Claudia. Did she look afraid of me? When she heard…your story."

"Fucking petrified." Derek confirmed.

"I'm going to ignore the obscenity you just uttered and say 'good'." Casey commented. Derek rolled his eyes in the dark.

"How's your ankle?" He asked.

"Painful." Casey replied. There was a moment's quiet. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me today."

Derek shifted uneasily.

"I'm your husband. I'm supposed to do stuff like that."

"No. You're Derek and I'm Casey. Nothing is taken for granted in our relationship."  
Derek snorted with amusement.

"Too right."

Silence fell and he started to wonder if she had gone to sleep.

"Derek?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't hate you. I just sometimes hate the things you do." Her voice was gentle in the darkness.

"I know." He replied eventually.

"Do you hate _me_?"

Derek turned towards her and adopted the 'arm across Casey's stomach' pose that was rapidly becoming his normal sleeping position.

"Case. I wouldn't have married you if I hated you. It's just sometimes you need to chill out a little bit. Be less rigid."

"Sometimes you're too chilled out."  
They both chuckled.

"Yeah. I know. I'm not as flaky as I was though."

"And I'm not so 'rigid'."

"No. You aren't. 'Rigid' Casey would never have married her dummass step-brother." He said, the arm stretched across her found the fingers of her left hand, rotating the gold band between his thumb and forefinger.

"'Flaky' Derek would never have asked her to."

"I guess not."

They were quiet again, and then Casey turned awkwardly towards him.

"I miss our family, but I'm glad I have you."

"Me too, princess."

In the darkness, he kissed the top of her forehead and then dropped onto his back, pulling Casey with him so that her head and shoulders rested onto his chest. His previously redundant left arm, held her against his side and she shifted a bit, working herself into a niche in the crux of his arm.

"You okay like that?" He asked.

"Yes. My ankle actually appreciates being at a different angle."

It wasn't what he had meant, but he wasn't going to push it further.

Neither of them mentioned that he had removed his t-shirt before turning out the light…which means no one commented on the fact Casey was currently lying on Derek's naked chest.


	22. Rodin

"Hey! Hoppalong! You ready yet?" Derek called towards the bedroom. Casey's irate face appeared around the door.

"Nice Derek. Make fun of the crippled why don't you?" She said sarcastically.

"I'm not." He grinned, walking towards her. "I'm making fun of you, and let's face it, that's a given." He stopped right in front of her face, smirking.

They locked eyes for a moment.

"You'll be the death of me." She whispered.

"If you don't get me first." He replied equally quietly, but still grinning.

Casey straightened and became business-like. "We can but hope. Let's go to school."

Derek chuckled. "You sound all sixteen again."

"Well considering I'm on crutches as a not-so indirect result of you, yes, I feel the déjà vu."

"Give me your bag." He ordered.

"I can manage." She insisted.

"Casey. I don't intend to spend the entire journey to class repeatedly picking you up off the floor. Give me the goddamn bag!"

She thrust it at him suddenly, settled her arms in the crutches and then whacked him on the leg with one.

"Come on, shift or we'll be late."

Derek sighed as he opened the apartment door.

"You shouldn't even be going. It's not been three days yet."

Casey hopped after him through the door. "I've got a paper to sit today. I need to be there."

"You could get special permission." He said as they waited for the elevator. It arrived with a ping.

"I'm not giving her the satisfaction." Casey hissed through gritted teeth as she hopped into the elevator car.

Derek shook his head. "You're so stubborn." He said following her and then watching the doors close.

"I learnt from the best."

"Sorry? Did you just say I was better at something than you?" He looked incredulous – and ecstatic.

"I said the best, Derek, I didn't say you."

"But you meant me."

"I never mean you, Derek. You just manage to sidle into situations uninvited and take over."  
"Sometimes the situation needs the kind of lift only I can give it."

The doors opened again and they moved into the lobby and out of the building. Before Casey could start the long journey to the bus stop. Derek hailed a cab.

"That's going to be expensive."

"Casey. For once, shut up and let me do something nice for a change."

She closed her mouth quickly shocked to hell at his words. He wasn't looking at her, just staring down the road and she remembered waking up beside him two hours ago their bodies so far apart on the mattress that both had been in danger of falling off the bed. The contrast with the bizarre way they had fallen asleep together the night before was great…and uncomfortable considering this man before her was her lawful husband. She resisted the temptation to make a mental quip about lawful and awful.

A yellow cab appeared and they climbed in. Derek gave directions and settled back in his seat.

"I'm sorry." Casey said after a minute. She hadn't realised until this moment just how much she hated the fact that they argued.

"S'ok. You just have to remember that I'm not the asshole you think I am."

"I don't think you're an asshole."

He laughed. "Casey…You tell me several times a day I'm an asshole."

"Saying it and meaning it are too different things." She confessed.

"First you tell me you don't hate me and then you tell me I'm not an asshole. Casey McDonald, are we…_friends?_ Shouldn't the world end right now?"

"Probably. And I'm not McDonald anymore, remember?"

"I remember, Mrs Venturi." Derek's voice was unexpectedly gentle.

.

He handed her over to Penny at the entrance to the English building.

"You sure about this?" He asked Casey his eyes on her even as he handed Penny his wife's bag.

"Yes. Thanks." She said, foregoing the easy retort which sprang to mind. A smirk flickered across his face as he realised she had restrained herself.

Time for some image-building…

"Come here, idiot." He said, playfully, catching her by the waist and pulling her to him, crutches and all. "Just try and stay upright, okay? I don't think I'd fancy you any more with a broken nose." He said, kissing the end of her intact one.

"You don't fancy me n-." Derek cut her words off with a second kiss, this time on her mouth. It was forceful to start with but once he'd committed her to it, he eased off and let the kiss develop. Casey relaxed in his arms and let him part her mouth with his tongue. Their lips and tongues moved together and Derek pressed his body into Casey's. This time when she felt his hardness against her, she didn't freak out. She raised her hand, the crutch clattering to the floor and began to comb his hair with her fingers.

Penny coughed politely and Derek drew back so that his forehead was resting against Casey's. He hadn't planned such an overwhelming kiss. He had aimed for something more respectable, less passionate, and less real. It had run away with him and he desperately needed to get back on track. He was not supposed to kiss Casey like that.

"I should go." Casey whispered.

"Yes. But just give me a sec."

"Derek…"

"Casey, I need to…erm…calm down." He admitted sheepishly.

Their eyes met. He was impressed. Some how she had managed to keep the revulsion from her face.

"That was…unbelievable." Casey said. He knew she meant it was wrong of him and he shouldn't have pushed her, but it didn't sound like that when the words came from her lips. She sounded genuinely in awe.

"Yeah. Without an audience next time." Derek said, pulling back further but not letting her go. His heart had wanted him to say those words, but his head made him say them in a cocky way; in way guaranteed to piss Casey off.

It worked.

"Next time?!" Casey gasped. "Derek Venturi!!!!"

"You know you want to." He finally recovered and smirked, reaching across to kiss her briefly on the lips. "…wifey." He let go and stepped back. "See you at lunch, honey."

"Der-ek!" Casey stared after him in surprise till he rounded the corner.

"Casey?" Penny called. "We really need to go."

Casey, still in shock, shook her head and turned to her friend. "Sorry? You were saying?"

"I said it's time to go."

"Oh. Sure."

They started into the building.

"I hope my future husband kisses me like that one day." Penny commented with amusement.

* * *

Derek rounded the building to the grassy area of the quad, and threw down his bag on the lawn. Then he followed it, throwing himself amongst the newly mown grass and beheaded daisies.

His heart was still pounding and he needed to calm it down: _it _being his heart and the discomfort south of his navel. He leaned back, closed his eyes and tried to think about anything except the fact that Casey had gotten to him again. She had been screwing with his life since they were fifteen, but just lately, she threatened him in ways he hadn't thought possible.

Before they went to Queens he had thought of her as a necessary evil, something to bear for the sake of his family, he had never thought of her in terms of his long term future. She had been the awkward relative you ask about when invited for Sunday lunch: the Grandma Beatrice with the beard and a penchant for Winter Mixtures and other weird tasting candy. In recent weeks she had morphed into something far more concerning.

He had reacted to the threat on her life in a way he couldn't comprehend fully, and now she was assimilating him in a way that would have made the Borg so very happy. He chuckled to himself as he thought of Casey with a computer chip in her head and one of those tight lycra suits from Star Trek: NG. Seven of Nine she was not. Casey Venturi was unique.

He thought back to her lips on his and the way it had felt to hold her against his skin last night. Change it was a-coming, and as he grabbed his bag realising he was going to be late to class, he realised there was little he could do about it.

* * *

"Earth to Casey, come in Casey." Penny said, tapping on the desk beside her. Casey looked up.

"I'm here. All present and correct." She protested.

"Yeah right. That's why it's taken me three goes to get your attention and even now I'm fairly sure you left your mind on the steps outside. Do you two ever talk to each other at home or do you just stare at each other all night." Penny coughed. "Although I guess you do _more_ than stare at each other."

"What? No." Casey blushed. The idea that Penny believed Casey and Derek spent all their evenings_ re-acquainting_ themselves in the bedroom was just…distracting…very distracting.

"Anyway. I need your attention because I want to ask you about _him_."

"Who? Derek?"

"No! His friend…Jazz."

Casey blinked. "What about Jazz?"

"Do you think I might possibly have a chance at…?"

Casey's eyes widened. "Penny Black! You like Jazz!"

"Miss Venturi! Do you think you can keep your discussions of your friend's musical tastes to a minimum during my class please?" The professor grumbled across the lecture hall.

"Sorry Sir." Casey replied, heartedly embarrassed and deciding now was not the time to point out that she was married.

.

Later as they left, and after apologising for getting her into trouble, Penny continued the discussion.

"So what do you think?"

"I think that dating anyone connected to Derek Venturi is a bad idea, Penny…sorry. He has a very strange taste in friends." Excepting Sam of course. Sam was sweet.

Casey couldn't help but hear her conscience in the form of an internal Derek voice point out that some of Casey's friends were less than stable/loyal/sane.

"But he's cute, and was really chatty the other day. Please Casey…my mom keeps asking me about boys and all I can tell her is that some exist on campus. I'm almost ready to graduate and I've yet to even be asked out on a date."

"You're too good for them, Penny. I'm saving you heartache."

Penny stopped suddenly, forcing Casey to turn and look at her.

"What if I don't want to be spared heartache? What if heartache is exactly what I need?"

Casey sighed.

"I won't give you his number…" Penny tried to protest but Casey put up her hand.

"I won't give you his number because I don't have it, but I will tell you that he is coming to our apartment next week for my birthday celebrations. You know you are already invited. It's up to you to make the best of it."

Penny squealed. "Thanks Casey!" She shouted and did a little happy dance.

Casey watched her, sighing. "Relationships – who needs them? I think I'm going to join a nunnery."

"They wouldn't have you." Her friend said, tucking Casey's arm through hers. "You're spoiled goods."  
"Oh?"

"Married."

* * *

Lunch with Derek was interesting. He didn't turn up.

For a moment, Casey was concerned. They were in a form of witness protection after all. Then she called him and was informed that he had "forgotten" and would see her at the bus stop at 4pm. She wasn't fooled. She knew he was avoiding her, but somehow she couldn't blame him.

Penny helped her to the stop and left her bag by her feet because Derek wasn't there yet and she was about to miss her own bus.

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." Casey told her friend.

It wasn't until the bus actually arrived that Derek appeared, picked up Casey's bag wordlessly and climbed the steps behind her. He sat in the seat behind her too and still he said nothing.

They made it home in silence and Derek went straight to the bathroom for a shower. A short time later, slightly more relaxed and feeling more human, he emerged to find Casey sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked.

"Not really." That would be acknowledging the kiss had happened. He wasn't prepared for that.

"Good. Neither do I." Casey butted his arm with her own and when he finally met her eyes, she grinned. "What do you say to collective amnesia and a Simpsons marathon?"


	23. Honesty and How Not to Deal with It

They didn't talk about it, but neither did they argue about it and by the following week, Casey was back on two feet again, her ankle still puffy but nowhere near as painful. Derek backed off with the over-protectiveness, allowing her to carry her own bag, but when they were together on campus he was normally holding her hand.

Hand holding wasn't new. The routine was that as soon as they descended from the bus at the usual campus stop, he would take her hand and hold it whenever he thought there was a danger of someone seeing them together. As soon as the coast was clear, so to speak, he dropped her hand with a less than subtle wipe of his palm against his jeans.

Since Casey's accident, however, and the kiss, the hand holding had started as soon as they left their apartment, and on the rare occasions he let go, his palm remained un-wiped. Derek hadn't noticed all this.

Casey, however, did.

"Are you okay?" She asked one morning as they walked to the bus stop to go to college, again holding hands.

"Yeah why?" He asked.

She swung their joined hands upwards and squeezed his hand pointedly. Derek chuckled.

"What can I say? You're a klutz. I'm just keeping you upright." He joked, irritatingly.

"You're a moron, Derek." Casey said rolling her eyes and walking as fast as her ankle would let her.

Dragged along behind her, Derek had to jog to keep up.

But neither of them relaxed their grip.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

They sat together in their one solitary mutual class.

_The guy on the third row with the red hair and the nose ring is eye-fucking you. _Derek wrote on a piece of note paper. _Looks just your type._

Casey sighed.

_That's Simon and he's gay._

Derek shrugged.

_Like I said. Exactly your type._

Casey made a big show of concentrating on the lecturer below while Derek wrote more inane comments on the paper designed to wind her up. Eventually she cracked and elbowed him in the ribs. Derek retaliated by trying to tickle her whilst Casey, annoyed, wriggled away from him.

"Mr Venturi. Would you kindly put your wife down? If you are going to maul her, please do it in your own time and preferably in _private_." The lecturer called up from the lower floor. All eyes in the room swiveled to Derek and Casey, the latter turning bright red in mortification. Then she stood, collected her things and moved to the other side of the class room where Derek couldn't follow.

.

As the class ended, Casey got up quickly and left the room. Derek, books already packed away in anticipation, sprinted after her. Again, she was walking as fast as she could without running because her ankle was still weak, but it wasn't fast enough to get away from him.

"Casey. Wait. I'm sorry." Derek said, catching up with her in the quad.  
"No you're not. You thrive on that sort of attention. Disrupting a class and making the whole room look at you while you "get the girl"."

"I didn't "get the girl" the girl was you…"

"It won't have looked like that to the rest of the room." She pointed out.

"…besides," he continued, ignoring her. "You're already mine."

"Derek. I'm not in the mood." Casey said wearily, she could feel a headache coming on.

"Oh? And there was me hoping for a nice romantic tumble in the hay when we get home."  
"Get your puerile mind out of the gutter."

"Why is the concept of sex with my wife something dirty?" He asked loudly so the people around him could hear, his eyebrow was raised. "Unless _dirty_ is the way you want it?" He was trying to create a scene – and succeeding.

"Derek…" Casey said warningly.

"Oh come on Casey." He teased.

Casey knew he was only doing this to embarrass her. It was ironic, because if they really did have that sort of relationship he would have no doubt invoked the no PDA rule.

_Control. He always needed to know that he had the upper-hand in our relationship. Goodness knows, if I actually turned around and reciprocated he'd throw an absolute_…Casey grinned.

She cocked her head to one side and regarded him thoughtfully. Then she stepped towards him, slid her hand to the back of his neck.

"If you want me," she said in the most seductive voice she could manage. "…why don't you just _take_ me?" She bent her head to kiss the side of his neck, running her nose along his skin lightly, and leaning into him – all the while bracing herself for the shove as he pushed her away from him, and the look of panic on his face.

They didn't come.

Casey pulled back slightly. Derek was watching her.

"For both our sakes," he muttered quietly. "Please don't do that again." He pushed past her and was gone before she had truly registered his words.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Casey made her way home alone from college because Derek had disappeared off the face of the planet. And when he hadn't appeared by ten in the evening, she rang Angelo.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm watching him right now."

"Is he okay?"

"That depends on your definition of okay. He's pissed."

"I sort of gathered that. He wasn't happy with me this afternoon."

"No I meant he's drunk."

"Oh." Casey paused. "Look after him."

"Mrs Venturi that's what I get paid to do, regardless of what the fucking idiot does to put himself in danger."

"Is he putting himself in danger?" An element of panic crept into her voice.

"Does death by alcohol poisoning count?"

"Angelo!"

"I'll look after him Casey."

"Thanks."

.

Casey looked down onto the couch where Derek was lying wrapped up in a comforter. It was morning, but she was still dressed in her pyjamas and her hair was best described as a mess. She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. Despite your stupid behaviour yesterday in class, I shouldn't have behaved the way I did. I pushed boundaries and I shouldn't have."

Derek looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot because he was severely hung-over. He had been insanely drunk last night, but even then self preservation had kicked in and he had realised that climbing into bed with Casey when he got home was a bad idea. He didn't trust himself. Angelo's jokes about sleeping humping his wife were uncomfortable now. Instead, he had opted for the couch…besides, it was closer to the bathroom.

"Can we talk about this some other time?" He asked, his speech – like his tongue – all fuzzy. Casey nodded.

"Is it safe to use the bathroom?" She asked.

Derek nodded, and then his expression looked panicked and he shot off the couch like a rocket into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"I'll take that as a no."

.

He didn't attempt to make it to college. Just slept through the day at the apartment, opening an eye every now and then to see if the world had imploded the way his head thought it had. At two o'clock his trip to the bathroom was for a shower rather than anything more disgusting and he emerged feeling, if not human, at least humoid.

Last night's attempt at oblivion had been necessary, because the sight of Casey coming on to him had been disturbing, and he wasn't sure he meant in a _bad_ way. He knew she had been trying to get a rise out of him, to annoy him as much as he had annoyed her, but the truth of the matter was it took a lot of will power to not encircle her with his arms and slide a hand up under her shirt to the place where her breasts were pressed firmly against him. It wouldn't have been like the kiss from the other day which was an accident of emotion, because this time, whatever her motivation, Casey had offered herself to him, and he nearly accepted.

He was a jerk to push things with Casey. When they were back at school in London the boundaries were clearly drawn under the gaze of their parents. Away from that scrutiny at Queens they had been blurring them. The possibility of _whatever_ had been on the cards since before Dennis' monumental cock-up, but now that they were married, living together, sleeping in the same bed, _without_ supervision the _dangers_ of their new proximity were all too clear. So to actively goad her about their relationship to _hint_ about them being lovers – even in public was…madness.

If Casey's attraction to him was even a fraction of the strength of his for her they were _so_ screwed!

It wasn't even as if he could use their arguments to create distance between them because their fighting was so passionate. One false move and they would heading for the bedroom without even Casey's conscience to stop them. He needed to calm things down a bit, force them to take a step back. Introduce a bit of civility into their friendship.

.

Later, when Casey returned from class, Derek was no where to be seen. The apartment was empty and she began to speculate that maybe he was out on another bender, but within five minutes he too came through the front door, shopping bags in his arms and a small bunch of flowers tucked on the top. He dumped the bags and handed her the flowers.

"I was a shit. As per normal I deserved all the crap you gave me."

"Are you still drunk?" She asked suspiciously. Derek laughed.

"No. But I can see your reasoning." He leant against the kitchen cupboards. "Do you think we can get through this marriage without needing PTSD counselling?" He joked.

Casey placed the flowers on the counter and moved next to him.

"Probably not."

He put an arm around her shoulders.

"I was insane, wasn't I?"

"You mean you've ever been sane?" She joked.

"Ha ha. I mean when I suggested that we should get married."

His wife was thoughtful. "To be honest, looking back I think you were a lot of things, but strangely enough even though I might have said it at the time, insane isn't one of them."

"Time for another truce?"

"I guess."

Derek pulled her into his embrace. "Thanks by the way."

"For what?"

"Not freaking out about my body's reaction to you when we kissed."

"I freaked out, just not so that you could tell. Derek, can I ask you something?"

"Within reason."

"How many times have you had _that_ reaction to me?"

Derek froze. Why was it so easy to dance on the precipice with Casey?

"Casey…"

"No. Come on. I need to know."

"It's none of your business."

She chuckled humourlessly, dislodging his arm from her shoulders.

"How can it _not_ be my business?! This is your body's reaction to _me_ we are talking about."

Derek sighed. _…waltzing straight into the burning pit of hell fire._

"Once or twice."

She knew that, and she was convinced there was more. She looked pointedly at him. Derek slumped back against the edge of the work-surface.

"You're a dancer, Casey. You prance around the living room working out and stuff, in the kinds of clothes that..."

"I don't prance, Derek. How many times does it happen?" She pushed. _Jesus Casey! Do you understand what you are doing here?_

He coughed. "…ahem…a day."

"Once a day?!" She stared at him in disbelief. Actually it was several times a day, but if she had miss-heard he wasn't going to admit to that.

"Like I said, lycra and stuff."

There was a painful silence.

Derek wished she would just _say_ something.

"Have you ever…_ahem_…done something about it?"

_That_ wasn't quite what he had in mind when he wished she would speak.

"No!" he almost shouted.

"Why not?" Casey sounded almost offended.

"Because you're my…" His voice trailed away and they were both aware that he was going to say 'step-sister' and that the term was no longer the most important definition of them anymore.

And there was absolutely nothing wrong with a guy thinking of his wife while he...Casey couldn't think of how to express the act. Derek could think of plenty of ways.

"I'm sorry." Casey said. "I'll do my routines at the gym in future and…"

"Casey, I've told you before. I'm a young guy, I have reactions like that to lots of women all the time. You don't need to change your behaviour because of mine."  
"There are other women you…react to _every_ day?"  
"Well I see you the most so…"

"I'm the only one you…_every_ day?"

He nodded. "Sorry."

To his surprise, Casey laughed – but it was a nervous laugh. "Don't be. In a weird way I'm rather flattered. A woman likes to be found attractive by her husband."

Derek snorted but he didn't point out the discrepancy. Most women liked to be found attractive by their husbands because they wanted to be made love to by their husbands.

"Are you…_excited_ now?" Casey asked curiously.

"Okay. _That_ was one question too far!" Actually, he thought they were several questions too far into the abyss.

Derek pushed away and walked into the main living area. They stared at each other across the increased distance for several minutes.

.

And then they both laughed and looked away nervously. Derek looked at his feet and Casey looked at the ceiling whilst biting her lip.

Derek recovered first.

"I was going to cook dinner." He said. "You've cooked every night since we've been here. But, maybe a touch of neutral ground is in order. Go get changed and we'll go eat at that diner place you keep on about."

Casey looked relieved.

"Sounds good. I'll just go clean up." She started to move towards the bedroom.

"Casey?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't dress up _too_ much."

He didn't explain why. He didn't need to.


	24. Good Night

"Okay." Derek said leaning towards Casey and looking at her over the two tea-lights in the middle of the table. He was trying to ignore the way her face glowed in the half-light – that, and the "dressed down" look of her denim dress. She had aimed for understated as requested, but the result was that she looked good – very good. He would say "hot" but there was a slightly derogatory tone to that word which Casey's current attire did not deserve.

"You need to tell me now. Why the fuck did you date Truman?" He figured as her husband he had a right to know.

Casey looked taken aback. She was fighting a similar "keep it real" battle with her own libido. Derek had chosen black jeans and a dark green button up. He'd left it un-tucked and opened a couple of buttons in an effort to not make one (effort that is), but the result was that she had felt a chill when he had emerged from their bathroom. "Derek. Is that really any of your…" her voice trailed away. Derek cocked an eyebrow and sipped at a glass of Chianti. She wouldn't be able to argue out of answering because the embarrassment of being asked his questions would be nothing to the embarrassment Derek had felt answering _her_ questions earlier in the apartment.

She sighed in resignation.

"Why _not_ date Truman?" She half-answered. Derek snorted.

"Come on, Casey. Even you know why not _now_. I just wondered why when you dated nice straightforward guys like Sam and Max, why you then had to go and date Truman?"

"The ultimate rebel, you mean?" Casey asked slyly.

He bristled at any implication that Truman was more of anything than him. "Please. I'm about to eat. The only _ultimate_ that guy was is a jerk." Casey was about to say something but Derek held up his hand. "I know you think I'm the ultimate jerk but…"  
"I wasn't going to say that." Casey chuckled. "I was going to say that for once you and I are in agreement. Truman _was_ the ultimate jerk."

"Good. You still didn't answer my question though."

"I was fed up at how much I had changed myself for Max and to a certain degree Sam. Sam wanted a nice quiet girlfriend and I couldn't be that. Max wanted me to sit and look pretty which was fun for a while but…use my own brain???? Truman challenged me. I thought he wanted me to be more than that, to fight back. Plus he tried so hard to win me over and the attention was nice. I thought he would keep on trying, keep on challenging me. But he didn't. Not in the end. Unless you count him challenging my patience."

"He was the ultimate challenge huh?" Derek asked. It was a question on two levels.

Casey understood that. She smiled.

"No. Not the _ultimate _challenge, no."

"Dating the _ultimate_ challenge would have been a little awkward for everyone, wouldn't it?" Derek mused. They both knew they were talking about him. Just as they both knew the chaos that would have ensued if they had ever crossed a certain boundary while they were at school.

"Mom and George would never have allowed it." She said. He couldn't fault her. They hadn't been adults. It wouldn't have been their choice, but…

"You're _married_ to me now, though." Derek pointed out. "What do you think they'll make of that?"

The Billion Dollar Question.

She pulled a face. "Please I'm trying not to think about it." He thought she meant their marriage, but she meant how Nora would take it. Her mother's reaction was never far from her thoughts.

"Do we tell them? Or do we just handle it all discreetly later on."  
"The divorce?" Casey closed her eyes. "Let's just worry about that when the time comes. Who knows how long this is going to last?" If she was honest, the last two and a bit months had flown by. She had to pinch herself every time she remembered who Derek was, and the fact that when they went home tonight, he would be sleeping beside her.

Derek patted the back of her hand. "I know. I think you're right. This could last a long time though." He was determined this would last as long as it took to make Casey safe and nothing shorter; whether their parents knew or not.

Casey shrugged. "Yes it could."

"You think we'll make it to our first wedding anniversary?"  
She looked up at him, and noted not for the first time that the light from the candles was flickering in his eyes. There should be a law against eyes like that.

"A whole year of sharing my life with you?"

"Scared?" he cocked an eyebrow again.

"Of you? Don't be ridiculous."

The confrontational element was back in their discussion. They grinned at each other.

"If we make it to our first anniversary, I'll take you to Paris." He said.

"I've always wanted to see the Eifel Tower."

"Paris, Texas." Derek said with a smirk. Casey rolled her eyes.

"The trouble is I know you aren't joking."

They laughed easily. The waiter arrived with their starters and they pulled back from each other to let him place the plates on the table.

"Why didn't things work out with Sam?" Derek queried after a few mouthfuls.

Casey swallowed hard. "Excuse me?"  
"I've always wanted to know. Why not Sam? I mean I know the guy. He's great and totally trustworthy."  
"He wanted me to trail around after him, doing what he wanted. Not in an arrogant way but just…he expected me to worship the ground he walked on. I couldn't do that. I guess I wanted him to be the same way with me." She shrugged. "We argued."

"And why date Max?"

"Oh come on Derek. He was the captain of the senior football team. What girl is stupid enough to turn down….never mind."

"You hate football." He stated.

"I hate hockey. Your point is?"  
"You could have dated the captain of the hockey team." He protested.

"That was you."

"I meant my predecessor."

"He had an ego to rival yours, and bad breath."

Derek snorted and then grinned at Casey.

"I've heard it could fell trees."

They sniggered together and started to chat about less personal things, yet still occasionally the discussion got heated.

"I didn't say she was a bad politician. _I_ voted for her." Derek said nonchalantly. They were talking about a recent election.

"You _what?_"

"I voted for her."

Casey looked at him, stunned.

"Why so shocked? I thought you said that if she didn't get into power it would be a travesty of justice."

"Yes. But…hang on. Why did you vote for her?"

"I have my reasons."  
Casey scoffed. "Yes and I bet at least one of the major ones was how she looks in a suit."

Derek smirked. "I wouldn't say major. But you have to admit the lady looks good in silk."

"Der-ek!"

"But that's not the reason."

"Don't tell me. You _know_ her daughter or something?"

"You have a really bad opinion of me, don't you?"

"Based on years of experience. Why? Are you going to tell me you voted for her because of her fiscal policy?"  
"No."

Casey looked at him smugly. Derek leaned forward.

"I voted for her because I had a friend back at Queens with a sister who had Cerebal Palsy. He wrote to her office and she campaigned and won special funding for cases like his sister. Then she made a special visit to meet the little girl – and she left the media out of it. She just sounded like my kind of politician."

His wife's eyes were wide.

"Oh. And she has a fantastic set of legs."

He'd got her and she knew it.

"What do you want to talk about next? Religion or the weather?" Derek asked emptying his glass of wine.

"Why do we do this?" Casey asked, pointedly avoiding his question.  
"Do what?"  
"Fight." Her voice was soft and curious rather than harsh and accusatory.

"I don't know why you fight with me, but I can tell you why I fight with you."

"Oh?" Casey put down her knife and fork, rested her chin on her hands and gazed at him in rapt attention.

"You get this little twinkle in your eyes when you are totally passionate about something. It only comes out when you are in love or fiercely angry. It's cute and the only time _I_ get to see it is when you're pissed at me." He was being serious but he knew she wouldn't believe him.

"That's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" Derek asked and promptly filled his mouth with pizza. "So why do you fight with me?"  
"I don't know." She murmured honestly.

.

The food was good and they were too used to each other for any awkward silences, so they ate for a while in silence. The rest of the restaurant was quiet with just a few couples here and there, and soon, the owner came over to check that everything was okay with the meal.

"It's lovely, thank you." Casey enthused.

"It is a delight to cook for someone so beautiful." The man said. Derek raised an eyebrow at Casey and she blushed. The proprietor turned to him with a smile. "Is she not the most beautiful creature?" He asked.

Derek smiled winningly back. "Yes. She is." Casey was waiting for the rejoinder, but it never came. Instead, Derek took her hand.

"I've known her a long time and her soul is equally beautiful." There was no trace of irony or sarcasm, and his words made her blush, and strangely happy. She shook herself, knowing he was merely perpetuating the newly wed myth.

"You have been married long?"  
"Nearly three months." Casey answered timidly and somewhat distractedly because Derek's fingers were stroking her own.

"You are a wise man." The older man stated to Derek. "You would regret the loss of this one."

Casey's husband lifted her hand to his lips. "Yes. I would."

Shortly afterwards, Derek asked for the bill which was returned to them with a small rosebud lying on the top. He chuckled. "Yours, I believe."  
"Oh!" Casey was taken aback.

"You're charming them out of the trees, princess." He teased

She blushed as the waiter returned to take the payment.

"Thank you." Casey said to Derek when they were alone again. "This was nice. Arguing aside."  
"Casey, you and I both know, we'll always argue. Because there will always be the challenge there."

He reached across to play with her fingers again.

"Just so long as you realise that I'm not the total asshole you think I am."

Casey smiled softly, nodding when he indicated they should leave.

"I never said you were a _total_ asshole." She stated letting him lead her by the hand.

And as the door of the restaurant closed behind them and his arm slid around her shoulders for the walk home, Derek leaned close.

"You believe what you want to believe." He said, quietly. "And I meant Paris in France, not Texas."

* * *

With any other woman, he would have labelled tonight a date. With any other woman he would call tonight a success. With any other woman he would be pushing for the date to turn into an all-nighter, because the way he felt right now…

Casey was tucked into his side as they walked along the road and his thumb was stroking her shoulder. She was giggling slightly at something he'd said, her own arm around his waist and a hand flat on his chest.

He wondered what it would take to make this more _real_ than it already was. Love? Was that what was missing? Because whilst Casey was his wife, there was still that wall between them, although right now, it felt like a kerbstone on the sidewalk.

Derek wasn't exactly sure what Love felt like, but he was fairly sure that he hadn't experienced the emotion with anyone who wasn't a blood relation. He'd felt a lot for Sally, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to let her go if it had been love.

Casey steered them homeward while his mind wandered.

"Penny for them." She asked him as they turned into their street.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah. I like my anatomy too much."

"Well I'll tell you what I was thinking." She said, biting her lip slightly. "I was thinking that tonight I really felt like a bride having dinner with her husband. It was lovely." She paused and looked up at the stars.

"Honesty suits us." She said, cryptically.

Derek pulled her into the circle of his arms.

"Sometimes I forget who we really are when we're together." He admitted. "And that's dangerous."

"Who we are? You're my husband, Derek and I'm your wife. What else is there?"

They met each other's eyes and then laughed.

"You're right. This is dangerous." Casey said. "You'll have me forgetting I don't like you in a minute."

"I'll have you forgetting your own name in a minute." Derek said cockily. Casey smacked him on the arm.

"Behave!"

He released her. "Change of subject?" He asked.

Casey relaxed. "Please!"

"So, tomorrow's the big day…what do you want to do for it?"

"Big day? Oh! My birthday. Well Penny was talking about a club."

"A club?!" Derek laughed. "Is that really what you want?"

She took his hand and they walked along together.

"I like the dancing aspect of clubs, it's just the insistence on "doing shots" and you know that with it being my birthday…"

"The pressure will be on. I'd watch you. If you wanted me to come."  
"It would look pretty suspicious if you didn't, but continuing our honesty policy honey, I don't trust you further than I can throw you."  
"Great policy for a marriage." He said wryly.

"Oh I trust you with my life, and my virtue. I just don't trust you to protect me from embarrassing situations."  
He grinned and opened the door to their lobby.

"Probably wise." He said when they reached the elevator. But his mind went further. _And if I were you, Casey, I'd watch your virtue too._

They reached their front door and he let them in, the door closing with a loud bang behind them. Then Derek stood in front of Casey on the threshold of their apartment.

"Is this where you give me a goodnight kiss?" She joked nervously.

Tonight had been good, probably one of the better dates she had experienced. The bonus being the guy was already her husband and therefore obliged to speak to her in the morning. She smiled to herself at her insecurity.

"Do you want a goodnight kiss?" He asked, his hair falling slightly forward and she caught herself idly thinking that great though it looked it would be in his eyes if he didn't get it cut soon. He brushed her hair from her face and they watched each other for a moment. Casey started to shake. Derek didn't blame her.

"You've kissed me before." She reasoned. Where was this going?

"In public and without the presence of a bed." He said quietly.

"Is that a problem?" Casey asked, her heart thumping against her chest.

"You tell me." Derek replied and bent his face to hers.


	25. A Birthday Surprise

Derek broke away from kissing Casey.

"This was not exactly what I had in mind when I suggested dinner." He said, amusement clouding his voice.

"Not exactly what I had in mind when I accepted." His wife replied.

They were sitting on the old couch, arms loosely around each other, continuing what they had started on the doorstep about twenty minutes ago.

"Maybe we should call it a night." Derek said, reluctantly.

Casey's eyes widened.

"I mean. Maybe you should go to bed." Derek clarified.

"And you?" Casey asked quietly.

"There's a hockey game." He said quietly. Casey frowned. "It's a re-run, but I'm going to sit and watch it because getting into the same bed as you right now would be a mistake." He leant forward and kissed her again. "A very beautiful, but lethal mistake. Don't. Be. Offended. If I didn't care, we wouldn't even be discussing this."

Casey looked sadly at him.

"This was already a mistake wasn't it?"

He sighed and sat back. "Not a mistake. It's a complication." He ran a finger down the side of her face. "I had a good time tonight. Let's not screw it up by doing something we will both regret, because we _would_ regret it, sweetheart."

Casey looked down between them where their hands were still joined.

"I know."

"You're very beautiful, Mrs Venturi, and I don't deserve you." Derek said truthfully, kissing her mouth softly. "We need to remember why you are my wife and keep it real."

"I know." Casey said softly. "But, I don't think I hate you any more."

Derek chuckled. "Good. Because I think it's been a while since I hated you, too."

Casey stood up. "Night Derek."

He stood up beside her. "Night, princess. Sleep well." And he leaned forward to kiss her gently.

"Sweet dreams."

* * *

He woke on the same couch about three hours later. It was nearly two in the morning and the apartment was largely in darkness except for the flickering of the television and a glow from their bedroom. Scratching his head, Derek moved to turn on a light and then, blinking from the sudden brightness, he turned off the TV, did his circuit of security checks and made for the bathroom.

Five minutes later, he had switched off the living room lights and was in their bedroom, changing for bed. Normally, he would do this in the bathroom where Casey couldn't see him, but she was dead to the world, tucked up under the covers. Her caramel coloured hair spread across both sets of pillows and her face was set in a pose that was child-like in its innocence.

"Too good." He murmured climbing into bed beside her.

It had been the right decision to avoid going to bed at the same time as Casey, although he had missed the warmth of her pressed against him when she had stood to go. The warmth of Spring had not yet permeated their apartment and now the sheets were cold and it was instinctive to move towards Casey and the warm side of the bed.

He looked down on her sleeping beside him, smoothing her hair away from his pillow and her own face. Casey turned in her sleep and cuddled into his side – and he wasn't strong enough to stop her.

Instead, he reached for the bedroom light and moved down under the covers, his arm catching Casey in a protective hold and his lips pressing into her hair. Uncharacteristically the words of a poem he had studied briefly the previous year came to mind.

"_Her gesture, motion and her smiles,_

_Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles,_

_Beguiles my heart, I know not why,_

_And yet I love her till I die."_

He snorted quietly so as not to wake her, and laughing at himself, tightened his grip on his wife, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Casey woke with the sun as the red dawn light streamed through the windows whose drapes they had neglected to close and caught her pillow. She opened a weary eye and noted that the time was six am; Too early, especially on her birthday. She stretched slightly and moved her head, and wondered sleepily at the restraining force that wouldn't let her budge. The grunt in her ear enlightened her, and in the warm glow which still surrounded her from the previous evening, she smiled.

She couldn't see Derek's face because he was behind her, but he was in bed with her and she was relieved. After, their conversation the previous night, she had half expected him to stay on the couch.

Still too tired to converse and knowing that he would be in a foul mood all day if she even attempted it, she pushed herself backwards further into his arms, enjoying the tightening of her restraints, closed her eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

.

"Happy Birthday, Mrs V." A voice called in her ear. Casey opened her eyes to find the light bright and clearly much older.

"What time is it?" She asked, turned in his arms and looking up at Derek.

"A little after nine." He tilted his head to regard her. "How does it feel to finally be twenty one?"

She blinked and yawned daintily. Then she smiled and cupped the side of his face with her hand.

"Pretty good actually." She said, a new pinkness colouring her cheeks.

_Let her down gently._ Derek's inner voice said.

Casey smiled at his expression. "Relax Derek. Last night was just a few kisses. It's not like I expect you to marry me or anything." She giggled, making him roll his eyes. Sometimes when girls giggled it annoyed him. It especially annoyed him when Casey giggled because he hated it when she was in airhead mode. But she wasn't now, and this giggling was cute. And a relief, because she was right…except he probably wouldn't have called it "just a few kisses". It had been more than that.

"Oh you think you're so funny!" he announced diving closer to her, fingers out-stretched for tickling. His wife squealed and rolled away from him, and before he knew where they were they were rolling around on the bed, laughing so much that tears rolled down their cheeks.

They were interrupted in their little game by someone banging on the front door, Derek pulled back to give Casey chance to catch her breath.

"I didn't think we were making that much noise." He said as he climbed off her and went to open it. Casey laughed and sat up.

Derek padded across the apartment in his pyjama pants and t-shirt, his hair even more messed up than normal, and emotions ranging somewhere between annoyance at whoever was at the door, and relief that he had been interrupted before he had done something stupid.

"Mac?!" He said in surprise when the door was opened revealing the senior FBI agent in charge of their case. "Is something wrong?"

The older guy stepped into the apartment and closed the door.

"Sorry. Did I get you guys still in bed?" He asked in amusement at Derek's undressed state. His smile grew wider as Casey emerged from the bedroom looked every bit as ragged as Derek. "I should know better than to disturb newlyweds this early in the day."  
"Ha ha." Derek retorted. "We were fighting."

"Is that what they call it?"

Casey blushed. Mac crossed the floor to her. "Happy Birthday, Casey." He produced a card. She grinned and took it.

"Thanks."

Mac perched himself on the arm of the couch. "I'm your present." He said cheerfully. "I've come to whisk you away from all this for a couple of days."

Derek frowned. "To where?"

"Casey. How would you like to see your mom today?"

The tears started immediately. "Really?"

Mac nodded. "I'm afraid I can only take you, but as it's your birthday we thought we'd try and arrange for you to see Nora, as Derek requested the other day."  
Casey looked at Derek. "You asked for me to see Mom?"  
He shrugged. "I told you I would."

She smiled. "Thank you. Both of you."

Mac clapped his hands once. "You need to get a move on though. Go shower and pack – enough for two nights and then we'll get out of here."

She didn't need telling twice, disappearing into the bathroom immediately.

Derek looked at Mac. "How are you going to do this?"  
"I've managed to get her on a charter flight back to Canada for this afternoon. Bob will take over from there."

"Canada? I thought Nora was in New York."

"Lizzie was stable enough to be moved back to Canada, so they transferred her to Toronto. The rest of your family is there too, but we're only letting Nora meet up with her for safety's sake."

"How is Lizzie?"

"She's been making some progress. They've begun withdrawing the drugs they've been using to keep her in the coma to see if she wakes up on her own. Nora and Dennis have been taking it in turns to see her. Nora is back with the rest of the family, but she spends most of her days at the hospital. While Casey's there, they are going to be sharing a safe house. I'm sorry I couldn't take you back. There was only room for one."  
"S'ok. She'll be easier to hide on her own." Derek looked thoughtful.

"How's it going here?" Mac asked.

Derek shrugged. "Good."

"Good?" Mac said, raising an eyebrow.

"Very good." Derek admitted reluctantly.

"Did I really interrupt a fight?"

"No. But you didn't interrupt anything else, either."

"Oh?"

"I'm not sleeping with my wife, Mac." Derek corrected himself. "I'm not having sex with her."

Mac smirked. "You don't need to look so mournful about it."

.

When Casey emerged from the bathroom and went to pack, Derek grabbed a quick shower. He was dressed and towelling his hair when he went back into their bedroom, to find Casey, laying clothes and books into a holdall. He had left Mac in the living room, so he kept his voice low.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked. This was the first time they had been apart over night since he had joined her at the hospital after Lizzie's accident.

"I'm pretty excited so the nerves about the danger haven't kicked in yet." She admitted, sitting down beside him on the bed. "Well that's everything. Are _you_ going to be okay?"  
"Hell yes! I'll kick back on the couch, drink beer, eat chilli dogs and watch porn."

Casey snorted. "Yeah right."

"Hey. I was serious about the chilli dogs."

They grinned and he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Great timing." He muttered quietly. "Whisking you away from me. Think they were watching us last night?"

"No. It's probably a good idea to have some time apart. Space and all that."

Derek nodded. "Be careful." He said, pressing a kiss against her cheek. Casey nodded and patted his hand on her shoulder.

"You too."

"Oh! Hang on!" Derek said leaping up, moving to his bed side table and opening the drawer. He produced an envelope and a small wrapped parcel.

"Happy Birthday!" he said. "Open these later, when you get where you are going."

Casey took them from him carefully. "You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to."

"Thank you."

She turned and slipped the gift and card into her bag.

"I'll miss you." She said, turning back to him.

"Two days, Casey."  
"I know. It's just, we've spent so much time together recently."

"Yeah. It will be weird having the bed to myself."

Mac called from the other room. "Casey! You ready?"

"One second!" She called back.

Derek and Casey looked at each other and then they moved together and let their lips meet: soft and gentle at first, but growing more fevered by the second.

Casey gripped his shirt in her fist and he slid his fingers into her hair.

They pulled apart and rested their heads together.

"Be careful princess."  
"You too, D."

"Let's go do the public good bye."

And then they stood, and Derek picked up Casey's holdall and they went to join Mac.


	26. Mother and Daughter

**AN: A quick note before we start. George and Nora know that Derek and Casey are "pretending" to be married. They don't know that the marriage is real. It's a subtle, but very important difference. Telling their parents that they really are married to each other is what Derek and Casey were discussing. Can you imagine your parents thinking that you were only pretending that you were married to your step-brother and then finding out that you had actually done it?**

**The only person who knows and believes it in the family is Marti. Derek joked about Marti telling George but for some reason she never did. So Nora thinks it is a cover…for now.**

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. I must ask you to return to your seats as we will shortly be beginning our descent. As this is a private landing strip, I must warn you that it could be a rougher landing than you are used to, so please ensure you are firmly strapped in."

Casey exchanged a wary glance with her "sister" the young female FBI agent that was accompanying her on the flight from New York to Toronto. They were being flown in a small jet from private airfield to private airfield. She hadn't been introduced to her fellow passengers and decided that was a good thing.

It had been four hours ago that she had left Derek and her mind was alternating between thoughts of her Mom and Lizzie, and thoughts of Derek last night. Both thought processes scared her, for different reasons. She wasn't sure what awaited her in Toronto, and she wasn't sure what she had left behind in New York.

Mac had insisted she left her cell phone at home. He was also adamant that she not email Derek while she was with Nora. So until she was back in their apartment with him, she had no way to contact him. She remembered the look on Derek's face when Mac had explained that, and the way he had squeezed her hand before he let her go.

"Two days." He had said simply. Already it felt like a lifetime.

.

The landing went without a hitch although bumpy was hardly the word. Evidently, the owners of private airfields had less money to spend on comforts like level runways. It felt strange to leave a plane without texting someone, somewhere to let them know she had arrived and she thought about Derek and his texts when she had arrived in New York.

"Are you okay?" her companion asked.

Casey nodded. "I'm fine. A little tired."

Then they were whisked into a waiting car with tinted windows, and the hour long journey was begun.

About ten minutes outside of the landing strip, the car pulled into a rest stop and the female agent and the driver got out and walked away unceremoniously. Casey jumped as someone new climbed into the driver's seat, and then relaxed when she realised it was Bob.

"Sorry to make you jump Miss McDonald." He said.

"Venturi." Casey corrected him automatically. "Remember?"

Bob chuckled. "Good girl. Force of habit now, is he?"

"Something like that." Casey muttered.

It appeared Bob was going to drive her the rest of the way himself, alone. The idea made her happy for some reason, and when he started reminiscing about Derek's early childhood she realised why. He made her feel closer to her husband.

"Did George ever tell you about the time Derek ran away?" Bob began, and when Casey signalled in the negative, launched into an embarrassing story about a four year old Derek and a lost floppy bunny rabbit. She smiled at the innocence of the little boy Bob portrayed, and lost herself in thoughts of arms around her in a warm marital bed.

"We'll take you to the safe house, feed you and then Nora should be with you at about five. I think the plan is to take you to the hospital to visit with Lizzie and Dennis. Then your mom wants to take you out to dinner. If that's okay?"

Casey nodded and let her eyes close for a moment and sleep claim her.

She woke to familiar streets and buildings as they entered the outskirts of her former home and though she hadn't lived here for six years, it was still comforting. The strange thing was that the places she knew in Toronto got mixed up with the places she knew in London, Kingston and New York in her mind. They turned right off one street and she expected to see buildings from Kingston, turned left into another street and expected a residential street from London. And all the time, she missed the yellow cabs of New York.

"Nearly there." Bob announced a short time later. "Recognise where you are?"

"Sort of. It's been a while and I was younger then."

"You've had a rollercoaster of a life so far." Bob said, sympathetically.

Casey shrugged. "But not without love. I've been lucky with my family. Mom did well when she chose George."

"He's a good guy." Bob's eyes met hers in the rear-view mirror. "And so is his son. It takes a lot for a young guy to give up their freedom for someone else."

"I know Bob." Casey said simply. "Don't worry. I know."

.

The safe house was a non-descript building on the outskirts of town, which Casey would never have looked twice at. Bob pulled up on to the driveway and put the car into park as the static crackled on his radio.

"All clear." A disembodied voice announced.

"We're going to get out now." Bob explained. "Just wait for me to open your door, climb out and make for the front door as quickly as you can without running. Okay?"

Casey nodded. "Sure."

And with that Derek's godfather was at her door, holding his hand out to help her, and then shielding her back as she crossed the short distance to the front door. It opened as soon as she approached. A hand grabbed her and pulled her inside.

"Oh my God! Casey!"

And then Casey realised that the person who had opened the door was her mother.

She burst into tears.

* * *

"Do you want a shower?" Nora Venturi asked when they finally broke from the hug they had shared. "You've been travelling a while." Casey wondered if she smelled bad.

"Actually a shower would be great." Casey said suddenly shy of talking to her mom. She shook herself. "Come with me while I unpack?"

Nora nodded. "I'll show you to your room. We have so much to talk about."

Casey let her mother lead the way up the stairs, her eyes not missing the grey hairs which she had never seen before, or the extra creases on the beautiful skin. Even with the extra signs of stress which had appeared, her mother was still beautiful and her hug had been the same loving embrace she had always known.

Nora reached the summit of the stairs and turned towards an open door.

"This is your room, and I'm right next door."

Casey smiled. "I've missed you." She said reaching out to stroke a lock of her mom's hair with its new greys. Nora's breathing caught and she held out her hands to her eldest daughter.

"I've missed you so much too." She said. As she clasped Casey's fingers, her own registered the cold band on her left hand. "Oh!" She said, and pulled the hand towards her for a closer look.

"Is that the ring?" She asked. Casey nodded. "It's nice. I sort of expected the FBI would have provided a cheap brass one."

Casey shrugged. "They did. Derek bought me this one. He told me he won it in a trinket machine."

"This didn't come from a trinket machine."

"I know. I found the receipt when I was doing the laundry."

"So how is it being Mrs Venturi?" Casey felt a wave of guilt. Her mother knew that they were pretending to be married. She didn't know that they had formalised it in a legal way.

"Actually, it's okay." Casey said. "We can't argue outside of our apartment, so we don't argue as much. We've got routines set up for all the chores. Derek's behaving himself."

"What about the girls?" Nora asked, and this question hurt more than any others.

"There aren't any, mom. He doesn't have time and he's been warned about blowing our cover."

"Wow."

"I know. There will be time enough for talking about Derek later. Tell me about the family."

.

And as Casey unpacked, Nora told her about the comings and goings of her younger siblings and her step-father. She told stories that were largely humorous because the Venturis were notoriously bad for getting into scrapes and the occasional story that was less cheery. Marti was having trouble at school, and Edwin was very withdrawn. George had apparently managed to create a full-scale security alert when he lost his front door key and tried to climb in through the bathroom window. Casey listened and smiled, and unpacked and put away and when she was done, she followed her mother's directions and went for the shower she craved.

"I've been so worried about you." Nora told Casey while she changed. "Worried that Derek was being Derek and that you…"

"…were being Casey." Casey laughed. "It's fine Mom. We're fine. Things are different now."

"You've stopped arguing?" Nora asked hopefully.

Casey threw her an "Oh _please!_" look and both women giggled.

.

Later in the car on the way to the hospital, Nora filled Casey in on Lizzie's condition.

"You need to prepare yourself for how frail she looks." Nora told Casey. "She's being fed by a tube but her muscles are wasting so she's getting thin. Her hair was cut so that they could dress the wound, but her head is covered so that isn't obvious. She looks like she is sleeping, although since they started to withdraw the meds she has been less peaceful. They did it too quickly to start with and she became distressed, but now they have worked out a plan and she seems to be doing better."

"How long do they think it will be before she comes round?"  
"There is no way to tell. Apparently every situation is unique. She's doing well so far." Nora forced a smile onto her face. "Maybe she's just waiting for the sound of her big sister's voice."

"Let's hope so, eh mom?"

Despite Nora's words and the words of preparation from the doctor, Casey wasn't prepared for the sight of Lizzie on the bed.

"Are you okay? Miss McDonald?" The doctor asked Casey. "You look pale."

Casey blinked. "Sorry. It's just very warm in here. And it's Mrs Venturi, not McDonald."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were married."  
"No. Neither does my mom." Casey said under her breath.

Nora reached over Lizzie's form to press a kiss on her younger daughter's forehead.

"Hi Sweetie. It's Mom. I'm back, and I brought you a visitor." Nora's voice was excited and Casey wondered if her comatose sister heard that.

Casey stepped forward and Nora withdrew.

"I'm just going to get Dad." She told both her daughters. "He's in the canteen apparently. I'll leave you two alone."

The hand Casey took in her own was bonier than Casey remembered it. The five years between them accounted for the slight difference in size, but if you looked at the hands without their owners you would have mixed up which belonged to the elder sibling. Casey held the hand and stroked its back with her other hand.

"Hi Liz! It's me. Did you miss me? Because I missed you and…" Casey stopped. What on earth should she say? _Wake up?_

"I…erm…sorry. It's just this is really difficult. I can't believe everything that's happened, or how much things have changed. I can't believe that I can't just phone you up for a chat or just pop home for a visit. I've forgotten who I am over the past three months. Can you believe that? It's three months since I last saw you. We've never been apart for that length of time before. Even when I was in Kingston I came home more frequently than that. _Everything_ has changed. I don't live in Kingston anymore, Derek and I…we live in a big city in a small apartment…just the two of us. We're our own little family unit now. But of course we aren't. We're still part of the whole family and we miss all of you so much. Derek thinks I don't notice but he often sits in our living room, after I've gone to bed, looking at pictures of the family. We go to college, it's nearly the end of the school year again…I guess soon we'll be thinking about our summer plans." She chuckled. "I guess we'll be spending our summer together for certain this year. It would look pretty weird if I didn't want to spend my vacation with my husband. Oh! You don't know do you? Derek and I are posing as a married couple. It's all supposed to be pretend…except…Oh Liz!" Casey grasped Lizzie's hand tightly. "I have no idea how to tell Mom and George but we actually _got_ married. Derek really is my husband!"

Casey glanced towards the door. "He married me to protect me, and when this is all over we'll get divorced, but…we've both changed and our arguing is different now and when he kisses me…" Her voice trailed away. "You probably don't want to hear about this and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell. He'd freak if he knew how I feel…Lizzie…I think I'm falling in love with him, and I'm so scared I'm going to get hurt!"


	27. Text Book Errors

The exhaustion hit as soon as she had uttered the words, and she rested her forehead on Lizzie's hand, taking deep breaths. She must have moved slightly because she felt something brush her cheek but before she could think more about it, the door to the room opened and her parents entered.

"Casey!" Her father called. It was a gasp more than a shout and in a second she was across the room and in his arms.

"Oh Daddy!" She said and feeling like a five year old again, burst into tears. Nora looked on as her ex-husband got his time with their daughter. She knew Casey had found it difficult to talk to her father when they had been in New York. Then she had been reeling from the revelations surrounding Lizzie's fall, but now they were three months down the line, and everyone had had time to regroup and to think. Nora could tell from Casey's body language that she had come to the same conclusion as her mother. There was no point in apportioning blame. Dennis had suffered enough. She smiled as she watched her ex-husband. Things had been different between Dennis and Nora in the past three months. They had regained some of the ground they had lost in the dying years of their marriage. George had nothing to worry about, Nora was still hopelessly in love with her second husband, but Dennis had proved he could still be a good friend in recent times. There had been many occasions where he had joined George and Nora for dinner, and Nora suspected there was even a friendship developing between her husbands. They had more in common than just a wife.

As Casey and Dennis sat to one side and talked quietly, Nora took Casey's place at Lizzie's side. She picked up the frail hand of her daughter, and brushed it softly with her own fingers the way she had become accustomed.

"Hi Liz. I'm back. Casey and Dad are just having a chat. You know how they can go on when they get started. Did you have a nice chat with Casey while I was gone? Did Casey let you in on any of Derek's antics? I'm hoping she's going to tell all when we have dinner later. I'm sure there must be some juicy prank stories there. What do you think?"

And Nora prattled on for a while, holding the little fingers to her cheek.

.

Casey looked across the restaurant table at her mother and remembered the previous night's meal with a smile.

"Penny for them?" Nora asked.

Casey shook her head at herself. "Nothing. It's just I ate out last night too."

"For your birthday?"  
"No. Derek just decided he'd had enough of my cooking so he took me out to dinner."

Nora didn't miss the blush.

"That doesn't sound like Derek."

Casey laughed. "No it doesn't, does it?" She played with her wedding ring absentmindedly. Nora didn't miss that either.

"So how are things between you?"

"Like I said…good. He's a good husband." She replied honestly, because he was. And an unbelievable kisser, but she wasn't about to share that with her mother – his step-mother.

"So tell me everything since you left Canada. I gather Bob and George persuaded Derek to pretend to be your husband." Nora kept her voice down so that the other patrons couldn't hear, but she need not have worried. They were seated some distance from anyone else.

Casey nodded. "We drove to New York." She started, leaving out the whole side trip where Derek married her. "And they took us to this little apartment. It was pretty depressing. But it was clean and pest-free. Derek aside." Nora grinned and Casey smiled.

"I've made some improvements, painted a few things, bought some accessories. It looks better now, but it's all one space apart from the bathroom, and there's one bedroom, and that isn't really a room, just a cordoned off area."  
"Who won that argument?" Nora asked referring to the fight over the bed.

Casey looked down at her fingers nervously.

"We…erm…compromised." Casey said and then flat out lied. "Bolsters."

Nora's jaw dropped. "You're sleeping in the same bed!" she gasped.

Casey shrugged. "It's no big deal, Mom. "

"Isn't it?!" Casey could hear a crescendo in her mother's voice that made every part of her freeze. She needed to regain control of this situation because if her mother lost it over something as small as this what would she be like when she knew the full truth of Casey's relationship with Derek.

"No Mom it really isn't." She said, firmly. "If Derek and I can cope with it, so can you."

Nora's eyes widened in surprise. "If you say so. But I think I might need to have words with my step-son."

"Mom. Leave him alone. He's being good to me. He's looking after me. This Derek is so far from teenager Derek you wouldn't even recognise him."

"Casey. You're an adult, and I appreciate that, but sleeping in the same bed as Derek?!"

Casey bit her lip. The future suddenly looked very bleak indeed. She quickly changed the subject.

"College is going well. My new courses are filling in some of the gaps that would have been left by my old ones, so I think I'm going to come out of this with a better education. My advisor has hinted about an internship at The New York Times which I'm think about doing after I graduate."  
"What about Grad school?"  
Casey's eyes lit up. "That's the best part! The internship is a half-and-half thing. I would be on release to school for part of the term of the internship. The school part lasts a semester longer than usual but I'd be getting industry experience alongside my schooling. I'd come out the end of it with my qualification _and_ eighteen months worth of experience. The only drawback is it is hotly contested and I have to submit a written thesis and presentation on top of all my other college commitments, but I'm so tempted, Mom. If I got a residency at the Times I could write and travel and still leave room for my other written work."

"And your advisor thinks you should go for it?"  
"He's very keen. I did an assignment last month that he says was very promising. He's got a whole pile of things he wants me to work on over the summer."

"That sounds great, sweetheart! I'm so proud of you. It seems as though you're starting to work out where you want to go in life."

Casey bit her lip. She hated thinking about the future these days, because it only reminded her of the new complications. The fact that at some point she would become the _former_ Mrs Venturi. Just lately, that was something she was reluctant to contemplate.

"How's Derek's school work going?" Nora broke across her thoughts, unwittingly centring in on the area that Casey's own mind was already focussed.

Casey sipped at her coke. "He seems to be doing okay. He's had a couple of A- papers, and one of his projects got the highest score in the class. He's quite focussed at the moment. He only seems to be having problems with what he calls the "drier" subjects at the moment, the ones where he has to remember loads of facts and figures. I'm helping him where I can but we only share one class."

"Have you made any friends?"

Her daughter grinned. "Penny Black." She said and waited for the inevitable reaction.

"Ooo. What were her parents thinking?!"

Casey launched into a detailed description of Penny and the time they had been spending together, relieved that the tension seemed to have gone out of the conversation.

The trouble was she knew there was no diverting her mom from something that upset her like that. Nora would be revisiting the topic of Casey's step-brother at some point soon.

.

It wasn't until she was in her room in the safe house later that night that Casey got around to opening Derek's birthday gift. She hadn't forgotten it, but ever since he had placed the little box in her hand someone or something had been commanding her attention and she knew that she wanted to open it in peace. Nora had already wished her a good night and disappeared off to her own room, so as soon as Casey was ready for bed she withdrew the wrapped parcel from her bag and laid it on the bed beside her.

There was a card as well, she had discovered when she unpacked and she wondered when he had found the time to slip it in amongst her clothes.

The card was, as per usual, a joke one, and fairly derogatory at that. Casey rolled her eyes and opened it expecting to see the usual "I couldn't put it better myself" quip that he always wrote in her cards. Instead, Derek's hand-writing formed only the words, "To my wife, Happy Birthday princess, love D x." She smiled, her hands shaking slightly and turned to the gift.

It was carefully wrapped and she knew he hadn't done it. It had that matt, expensive two tone gift wrap that high end jewellery stores use. A tiny card was held in place by a small ribboned bow and when she peeked under it, she read the words "To Casey."

Casey tried hard not to tear the paper, sliding her fingers under the flap to detach the circle of tape and then used her finger and thumb to enlarge the space inside so that she could remove the box. It was dark blue and edged in gold, and bore the hallmark of a firm she didn't recognise, because the only jewellery shops she frequented were fairly low-ranking ones and you were lucky if your purchases came wrapped in grease-proof paper.

.

The box alone scared her, but the contents almost knocked her out.

She ran her thumbnail in the gap between lid and base, edged it open and gasped.

Inside, nestling on a dark blue velvet cushion was a heart-shaped pendant in white gold – or at least that was what the tiny label said. The heart was rounded and modern and the size of her thumbprint. It was simple, and beautiful. On the reverse, engraved in a font designed to look like rough handwriting were two sets of initials, intertwined. "CV" and "DV"; though it was clearly done by an expert engraver, it looked like the kind of linked initials you might find on the bark of an old kissing tree.

Casey stared at it, stunned…and then the tears came. She allowed herself to cry for a few minutes and then, wiping her eyes, opened the catch of the chain, and fastened Derek's gift around her neck.

She wanted nothing more than to be able to phone him, but that wasn't possible. So instead, she kissed the silver-coloured heart, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.

* * *

"He's fallen asleep again." One nurse said to the other, as they prepared Lizzie for the night time. Everything was night time for Lizzie at the moment, but hospital policy was to treat comatose patients as though they knew the difference between night and day. There would be no rolling during the night time period; no intrusive measures to stop the bed sores. They were actions for the day time. Instead, this was a time for the nurses to change out her pillows for fresh ones, give one last massage to her muscles, check her drips and tapes on her monitors and dim the room lights.

Dennis was still there, and as per usual he had fallen asleep.

"I'll wake him in a minute. He needs to go home and get a proper rest. And Lizzie needs her rest too. They mean well being here so much, but it is wearing on even the unconscious ones."

"Yes." Agreed her colleague, checking the monitor. "…Oh!"

"What's wrong?" The more senior of the nurses heard the change in her junior's voice.

"Her pulse rate is a bit high tonight."

"How's her temperature?" The senior moved to look.

"Normal. 36.5 degrees Celsius."

"It's probably nothing. But when Dennis has gone I think I'll sit with her for a bit."

"Aren't you due off in an hour?"

"Yes. But Matthew's away at his brother's so I'd only be going home to an empty apartment."

The other nurse chuckled. "You and your favourites." She teased. "You get so protective of your charges don't you?"

"Says little miss "Cancel her vacation because a five year old asked you too.""

They laughed together. The more senior one recovered first.

"Are you going to wake Daddy Sleeping Beauty or shall I?

* * *

Casey's night in a strange bed was made more comfortable by thoughts of her husband and the gift that lay around her neck. She quickly forgot, in the rush of emotion, that her mother had been so vocal about Derek sharing her room. She slept peacefully.

.

The atmosphere of calm disappeared the following morning.

.

Nora, coming into wake her eldest daughter with an air of excitement knocked one of Casey's textbooks from the nightstand causing it to fall on the ground. The action dislodged the paper wedged between the pages and it fluttered to the ground. Casey, roused from her sleep as soon as the door had opened, frowned because she never used such large paper items for bookmarks, and she had no clue what the strange piece of paper was.

Her mom bent to tidy the book and its contents up, picking up the paper and rubbing thumb and forefinger against it when she felt the quality and thickness. She frowned, because everything about it screamed "official document".

At the same moment as Casey remembered a conversation where Derek asked for a safe place – somewhere flat – her mother unfolded Casey's Clark County Marriage Certificate.


	28. Disappointment

"Casey?" Nora looked up from the paper in her hand. "Is this what I think it is?"

Derek had once said that Casey had an inability to lie effectively, and despite his attempts to change that over the years, it was still the case. She looked up at her mother her jaw set but then her shoulders slumped. She knew her mother, and she knew she wasn't going to get away with this.

"I suppose you are going to tell me that the FBI is good at faking official documentation." Nora said, but neither of them believed that those would be the words past Casey's lips. "Or are you going to tell me this is genuine, because quite frankly, it feels it." Casey nodded. Nora put her hands on her own hips. "You missy have some explaining to do."

"I married Derek." Casey admitted in a quiet voice. "In Las Vegas."

"Because?" her mom's voice was an eerie calm, like Casey had never heard before.

"We were told that if I was a Venturi, I would be safe. Derek said he didn't trust the FBI not to fuck up the documentation." Nora winced at the curse word which Casey had used unconsciously.

"Sorry. His words, not mine."

Nora said nothing, just turned on her toes and walked out of Casey's room. Casey's room door was left open, and she heard her mom rather than saw her.

"I need you to come to the hospital." Nora said clearly on the phone, the calm still there…for a moment. "Yes. I know what time it is. Yes I know how you are supposed to stay away. But I need you to come…no nothing's wrong with Lizzie…George listen!" Nora broke the calm. "Your son _married_ my daughter…no not the half-assed FBI cover. Your son took my daughter to Las Vegas and married her…for real. I'm looking at the marriage certificate. _Thank you! At Last!_ I'll see you in half an hour."

Then she was back in Casey's room.

Nora had her hands on her hip again and a look that said she wasn't going to be moved.

Casey stared back at her.

Neither woman spoke.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a thump of running feet on the stairs. Bob came barrelling through the bedroom door.

"Nora!"

"Bob! Now is not a good time. I suggest you and your FBI cronies retreat to a safe distance before I lose what little calm I have left."

Bob frowned and glanced at Casey.  
"Mom just found out about Derek and me." She said quietly, wishing she was allowed to talk to Derek.

"Oh." Bob said, but he turned to Nora. "That will have to wait. You have more important things to think about."

Nora looked at him with a steely glare.

Bob chuckled. "Lizzie's woken up."

* * *

Casey followed her mom through the doors of the hospital less than fifteen minutes later. It had taken them all of three minutes to dress and then Bob had driven them to the hospital, blue lights flashing and sirens going. He reassured them there was no cause for concern, but that he just wanted to get them there as soon as possible.

Dennis met them excitedly at the entrance to the ICU suite and frowned as he saw something other than pure joy on his ex-wife's face.

"What's wrong?" He asked perceptively for once.

Nora snorted. "We'll talk later…at length." She said, glancing over her shoulder. Casey trailed after her mother feeling like an errant six year old. She touched her fingers to her pendant and entered Lizzie's room.

It was a different Lizzie to the one they had left behind the previous night. _This_ Lizzie had had the breathing tubes removed from her throat, although the monitoring equipment and IV lines were still there. Last night's Lizzie had been grey in the face, but this Lizzie whilst still asleep had tiny circles of pink on her cheeks and her head was turned to one side in a more natural sleeping position.

The senior nurse on the ward came over to Nora as she arrived.

"Hello Nora! Exciting, isn't it?"

Nora looked dumb-founded. "What happened?"  
"We noticed an elevation in her pulse rate last night when we settled her, and so to be on the safe side, one of my other senior nurses sat with her for a couple of hours. About halfway through, she groaned and started to cough and pull at the tubes. We checked her vitals and realised she was coming around, so we made her as comfortable as we could. She's alternating between sleep and wakefulness at the moment. The longest period of waking was three minutes, but I think it is just because it is new to her. She can't talk yet because her throat has been damaged by the tubes, but that will come in time. You can sit with her, but try not to wake her. Let her wake of her own accord then she is more likely to stay awake."

Nora approached the bed and took Lizzie's hand.

Nothing.

Everyone in the room relaxed.

Dennis moved to sit on a seat in the corner of the room. Casey did likewise. Her mind was still reeling from the interrupted conversation she had had with Nora so she wasn't ready to process the events with Lizzie.

"Oooh. That's a pretty locket!" A nurse said as she started to leave the room.

"It's a pendant." Casey corrected automatically.

The nurse frowned. "Are you sure? I could have sworn those were hinges on the side."

Casey looked down and saw the nurse was right. She glanced up and saw that everyone else was paying attention to the bed in the middle of the room. Casey undid the chain from round her neck and examined the little silver heart. Eventually she worked out how to do the catch and prised the smooth heart open.

Her breath caught as she saw the contents. Derek had put a tiny photograph of the two on them inside the heart. But it wasn't a picture of their wedding day, it was a picture of the two of them together in the quad, during one of their cover-protecting sessions. Casey was lying back against Derek, her head leaning back on his shoulder, and he was holding her. They were both laughing and Casey remembered the joke. She also remembered the warmth of his arms and the way he had held her hand later on the way home, forgetting for once that he only had to keep up the act for so long.

Casey clicked the heart closed again and leaned back in her chair, her head resting against the wall.

She opened her eyes again when George Venturi entered the room.

.

Derek's father walked immediately to Nora and dropped a kiss on her head. "Hi beautiful, I missed you." She heard him say, and for a moment, her mother forgot the stress of having a daughter waking up from a coma, and another daughter with an ill-advised marriage, she smiled at her husband and took his hand.

"I missed you too."

Casey had to look away.

"How's Lizard doing?" George asked, using Edwin's affectionate term. "Bob filled me in when I got here."

"Nothing so far since we got here. But she looks different, more normal, don't you think?"

George looked at his youngest step-daughter and sighed. She was just so _thin_.

"She looks beautiful like she always does, Nora, but I can't wait to see her eating again. We need to get some muscle back on those bones."

Casey smiled. She hadn't realised how much she had missed her step-father. George caught her eye and winked. He straightened and made his way over to Casey.

"Hi sweetheart!" Casey stood up and let him hug her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too George." She said quietly, hugging him back hesitantly. George sensed the uneasiness.

"What's up?"

"You going to shout at me?" She asked.

A cloud passed over his face and he glanced over her head at Nora.

"Later. It's required of me, but not just yet."

"Okay." Casey said with a heavy heart, and resigned herself to a long wait for judgement.

"Casey." A new weak voice spoke in the room and everything stopped. Casey flew across the room and took her sister's spare hand.

"I'm here, Liz."

A tiny movement turned Liz's mouth up at the corners, but her eyes remained shut. Casey's heart leapt as she felt the small claw grasping her own fingers.

"She squeezed my hand."

* * *

They sat for the rest of the day, taking it in turns to hold Lizzie's hand. Gradually, they all heard their names come from the fragile girl's lips, but the one that upset them most of all came towards the end of the day as the doctors were shooing them out to let her rest for the night.

"Ed?"

George took Lizzie's hand.

"He's at home sweetheart. I'd have brought him with me, but when I left I didn't know that you were awake. Soon. I promise."  
"Tell Ed, he's late." Her voice said and then her lips quirked into a smile and they all laughed. She still hadn't opened her eyes, but there was enough to put many of their fears at rest.

They gave their goodbyes then, and Casey promised that she would be by in the morning before her flight. One by one they slipped from the room.

Outside in the corridor, Nora blew out a breath of relief and sank into George's arms. He kissed her head, and Dennis slipped an arm around Casey's shoulders.

"Dinner. I think." He announced. "All of us."

Nora straightened suddenly. "Too damn right!" She announced looking at Casey. "Mrs Venturi has some explaining to do."

* * *

The one feeling Casey hadn't expected to feel when confronted by her three parents was relief that her co-accused wasn't here. But she did, because somehow she knew he would do something to make matters worse.

Instead, she took the heat of their anger on her own, once again grateful because they were in a public place.

"I was scared." She said her voice still soft. "My sister was hurt, my life was in danger and Derek was offering to protect me. I'm the first to admit he's irresponsible and reckless, but when the going gets tough I'd rather have Derek on my side than anyone else. He dealt with Truman, after all."  
"Casey…" George started. "Truman wasn't totting a revolver and shoving people down the stairs. He didn't have a whole platoon of meatheads searching North America for you."

"No. But Derek did what he needed to protect me then, and he was offering something that no one else could give me. His name." She turned to Nora. "You know Derek and me. You know our relationship. Pretending he was my husband was never going to wash. You watch us and you know we h – dislike each other. They would dig and find out that it wasn't true. Derek made it true so that even if that happened, they still couldn't touch us."

George ran his hands through his hair in a gesture very similar to his son's.

"Casey you were relying very heavily on a rumour about our immunity from attack."

"I know. But it was the only straw we could clutch at."  
"I'm not happy Casey. Marriage isn't something you mess with." Nora objected.

"I know Mom. You think I wanted to lose my dream wedding? I got married in a Vegas chapel with Barry White for a minister, and a gay FBI agent as my bridesmaid. My groom was my step-brother who took me to a casino for my wedding night and…" her voice trailed away because the rest of the whole saga she really couldn't relate to the people before her.

"Barry White?" George queried with a Venturi smirk.

"Ronald is a bit of a fan." Casey explained. It took biting the inside of his cheek for George to stop himself from laughing.

"And the bed?" Nora pushed.

Dennis frowned. "What bed?"

"They're sharing one." Nora announced.

Three pairs of eyes fixed onto Casey like heat-seeking missiles.

"Mom!" Casey protested. "You make it sound like we're…erm…" She stumbled over her words. "We aren't. It isn't like that. Honestly. Derek is being a gentleman."

"Really…" Nora didn't sound convinced. She glared at her ex-husband. "Dennis?"

Dennis sighed. "I wish I had run away and joined the circus when I was sixteen and the girl with the spandex costume came to town. But being a lawyer seemed so much more sensible. Evidently I was wrong." He looked at Nora. "I'm sorry Nora. I'm concerned, but since this all came out of my cock-up I really don't feel I'm in a position to judge."

"We'll talk later." Nora told him ominously. Casey took a deep breath and let her fingers touch the locket again.

"George?" Nora pushed.

Her husband sighed. "Yeah. I'm pissed. But actually I'm more pissed at the FBI for letting this happen. And Derek. Because I'm fairly sure Casey needed a hell of a lot of persuading."

Casey smiled. "Like you wouldn't believe."

"Is he okay?" George asked her then.

"He was when I left. He's working hard, George. And he's being largely responsible and protective. I sprained my ankle the other week and he waited on me for two days straight."

"Good. I wouldn't expect anything less. Needless to say he and I will be having words. When are you going to finalise the divorce?"

"As soon as the danger passes. We've talk-" Casey stopped, realising that actually, she and Derek hadn't discussed the divorce, only made the assumption there would be one.

"I'll start to look into the annulment." George said. "Do you know anything about Clark County marriage law?" He asked Dennis. The latter shook his head.

"We can work it out together. In the meantime, you need to stop sharing a bed and start distancing yourself, Casey. The longer you two behave as though the marriage is real, the harder it will be to dissolve it."

Casey nodded.

"I need you to promise me, that one of you will sleep on the couch, Case." George stated. "And restrict the amount of time you spend together. Do you understand?"

Casey Venturi listened to what her husband's father was saying, and closed her eyes.

"Yes George." She said finally. "I'll do as you say."


	29. The Bump In The Road

"How are you doing?" Bob asked as they hit the highway. Casey shrugged.

"I'm good. It was a nice couple of days, and I got to see Lizzie smile. I know it's going to be slow going for her, I mean she still can't stay awake for longer than ten minutes, but to see her eyes open and her mouth smile…" She gave a small smile of her own.

"A good birthday then?" Bob said, flicking his eyes away from the road to look at her.

"Er…yes. On the whole."

Bob said nothing even though he had seen the way she had wrung her hands in her lap.

"Derek will be pleased to hear about Lizzie, I guess." He eventually commented.

Casey flinched at Derek's name.

"And he'll be pleased to have company again." Bob hammered another nail in the coffin.

"I wonder what state the apartment will be in." Casey tried to lighten her own mood.

"They ganged up on you, didn't they?" Bob cut to the chase.

Casey sighed. "What did you expect? They just found out that the two step-siblings got married even though they _hate_ each other. That's crazy even by my and Derek's standards."

"What's the damage?"  
"Derek sleeps on the couch and we have to stop spending too much time together."  
Bob laughed. "Like being sixteen again? You must not hold hands. You must not be alone together. No kissing unless it is on the cheek…"

Casey nodded. "The irony of it all is glaring. We don't feel like that about each other."  
"Really?" Bob didn't seem convinced. "Oh well then, it will be easy."

"Yes." Casey said firmly. "It will be."

They drove in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts until Casey noticed a sign whizz past them.

"Erm…Bob? Isn't the airfield that way?" She pointed in the direction of the exit ramp they had just passed.  
"Yup." Bob was calm as he stared straight ahead.

"Why have you driven straight past it?" Casey asked, shifting in her seat.  
"We aren't going to the airfield." Bob announced, and Casey saw a tiny drop of sweat appear on his forehead.

"We aren't?" A dread started to settle in the pit of her stomach.

"Nope. Casey. Are you buckled up?"

"Yes."

The car jerked forwards as Bob hit the gas.

"Good. Hold on. We're being followed."

* * *

Casey was a good driver, a careful driver who stuck to the speed limits – or rarely very slightly above them and was consistent with her mirror-signal-manoeuvre. By contrast, Derek, although improved since he had taken his test, was more aggressive and drove faster. Journeys home with the pair of them in his car had been a trial and the long journey from Las Vegas was…torture. She had also been driven at speed before, but it was in an ambulance or a car and both had their blue lights flashing so other road users knew to get out of their way.

Bob's driving was currently alarming. He weaved in and out of the traffic: over-taking, under-taking, cutting people up. Casey tried to reassure herself that he was experienced in defensive driving but it wasn't calming her down any. She glanced in the side mirror and after watching for a couple of minutes, saw a second car some distance back also driving erratically.

"Oh my god! He's gaining on us. Do something Bob!" She forgot herself and grabbed at his arm.

"Shit! Casey. Shut the fuck up! What do you think I'm trying to do?" It was so uncharacteristically _not_ like Bob that she let go quickly and grasped at the edges of her seat.

She was going to die. She wasn't sure how exactly. It might be in a wreck or it might be that their pursuer caught up with them, but one way or the other, they were going to die. She started to shake.

Bob eased into a line of traffic for a moment satisfied that the other car was stuck and he looked across at his passenger.

"Don't freak out on me honey. I need you to stay calm so that I can get us out of this mess."

"I'm scared."

"I know. But this is what I do for a living, Casey. Trust me. Please?"

She nodded. The traffic queue started to clear and then Bob needed to concentrate again.

.

The chase seemed to go on for hours, but it had probably been only ten minutes, when Casey looked out of her side window and found herself staring into the barrel of a gun.

"Bob!" She managed to squeal.

Derek's godfather didn't hesitate. He slammed on the brakes, and jerked hard on the steering wheel. Their car, now behind that of their surprised pursuers veered off to the right, bumped up a grass verge and onto the tight bend of the tight exit ramp they had almost passed. Bob accelerated as they turned out of the bend and onto the minor road.

"How long till the next highway exit?" Casey asked breathlessly.

"Ten miles." Grinned Bob across the car. "It'll take them half an hour to get back here at least." And Casey realised he had deliberately let the pursers get so close.

.

Despite the knowledge that the traffic and distance to the next exit would keep the danger at bay for a while, Bob didn't slow down and he didn't say anything else. He weaved through the normal roads, losing them in traffic until he came to the main highway going west, and joined it.

Casey left him to concentrate, but after they had travelled more than thirty miles and were still heading west, she couldn't resist.

"Where are we going?"  
"A safe house."  
"Where?"  
"Vancouver."

* * *

Bob didn't try and make it all the way to Vancouver on his own. He pulled over and called someone from his cell.

"Hey Suse! How's the vacation? Cool. Listen babe…Change of plan…I know, I know…I promised. Remember my special case? It just got complicated." He told the voice on the other end. "We have a leak. Someone is trying to kill her and they damn nearly just succeeded in catching up with us. If I try and take her back to New York now, they'll find us…Yeah. I know. Look I need you to meet me somewhere. I can't drive without sleep, and I can't sleep without knowing someone's keeping a look out. You're in a good position. You can fly up and join me…Just…do me a favour and don't use your company card. Use your own one…I'm good for it. Thanks Babe! You're an angel. Call me when you know where you'll land."

Bob hung up and looked at the girl beside him.

"I'm sorry Casey. I know you were hoping to be home tonight."  
She shrugged. "Not a lot I can do about it." She said, softly. "I suppose the "no phone calls" rule applies for me?"

Bob looked pained. Casey sighed. "Never mind. What's going to happen?"

"Susie will join us. She's in the States on vacation right now, but she's agreed to meet us and help with the driving and look-out shifts. We're going to drive to Vancouver and hole up there for a while."  
"A while?"

Bob looked uneasy. "It might be a while before you can go home to Derek." He said, honestly.

"A day or so?" Casey asked, knowing that the journey was more than that.

Bob sighed. "Casey. I'll take you back to New York, _only_ when I know it is safe. That could be a long time. I'd think weeks rather than days."

"And no calls?"  
"No calls."

Casey closed her eyes and her fingers rubbed at her wedding ring.

_Well George. You at least will be pleased with that._ She thought and swallowed hard against the tears.

* * *

Susie was a bottle blonde of about forty. She was leaning against a pillar at the rest stop the following morning, dressed in skinny jeans and a gingham shirt tied off around her middle, a denim jacket hung from her shoulders. There was a pink wheeled case beside her and coupled with the large dark sunglasses she looked like she was still on vacation – until she turned and Casey caught the sight of a brown handle carefully hidden against the small of her back.

"Hi Dad!" She chirped. Casey looked up in surprise as she greeted Bob. There was _no way_ she was his daughter.

"Cheeky!" Bob greeted her, and playfully patted her backside. "You trying to get me arrested?"  
Susie smirked. "You mean I'm not your little girl?" She said and pressed herself close to him. Bob rolled his eyes and jerked his head towards Casey.

"Not now. Casey doesn't need to bear witness to your complete lack of restraint."  
"I have _restraint_." Susie said. "You like my _restraint_."

Bob coughed embarrassed.

"Clearly, you can tell Susie and I have a…erm…history." He said, looking sheepish. "And she's not frightened to tell every one."  
Casey smiled a weak smile, and Bob was reminded that Casey was his godson's wife, and that he had no idea when he was going to be able to get her back to him.

"Suse. Let's go. We're gonna start getting attention. We can catch up on the way."

"No problems. I'll drive, you two talk."  
.

They stopped for the night in a motel but Bob left Casey in the car when he checked in making it look as though he and Susie were there to share a room together. Once he had the key, he released Casey from the car and led her to the room. It had twin beds which Bob and Casey took because Susie was going to take the first watch.

"I'm gonna go get some food." Bob said. "Behave yourselves." He winked at Susie.

"What's that supposed to me?" Susie asked.

"It means, this is my god-son's wife. Don't tell her all my secrets because they'll get straight back to Derek."

Casey frowned. "When you eventually let me talk to him."

Bob scratched his head. "You want to be safe?"

"Yes."

"You want Derek to be safe?"

"Yes."  
"Then until I know who let slip about your whereabouts, you can't communicate with each other. Derek and the apartment are still safe. You aren't. I'm not compromising your or Derek's safety just so that you two can have your hallmark moment. Okay?"  
Casey nodded.

Susie was nice but she was chatty. She was also quite the skilled interrogator because before long Casey had found herself telling Susie about Derek, how they had met and eventually how things had changed over the past few months.

"That's a beautiful locket." Susie said simply, and Casey hid a watery smile.

.

They travelled at a leisurely speed to Vancouver, not wanting to draw attention to themselves, staying a couple of times in motels. It was normally Susie who slept in the other bed, her back to Casey and her blonde hair lying on the pillow. The echo of the trip from Las Vegas to New York struck a chord deep and painful.

Every night, Casey lie awake till exhaustion took over, wishing more than anything that the hair on the pillow on the other bed was rusty brown rather than yellow.

They reached Vancouver.


	30. Derek

Something light but rough hit the side of Derek's head and he looked down at the paper ball and up suddenly at the person who threw it.

"What?" he growled.

"I said…Did you get the answer to that Trig problem?!" Jazz said, his eyes narrowing to a frown.

"Losing battle, Dude." Mel said from where he was sprawled out in the sun. "The only time you get his attention these days is if you shout 'Casey!'"

"Fuck off!" Derek muttered. Jazz sighed.

"Jesus, Mel. Give it the fuck up won't you. It isn't funny and your stupid witterings are making the situation worse."

Mel sat up and shrugged. "What situation? Oh. You mean the fact that Derek's been dumped and he won't fucking admit it, balls up and get out there for a revenge fuck."

Jazz caught Penny's eye from where she was leaning up against his legs and turned back to look at Derek. He needed to step in and clear this shit up.

"Seriously, Mel man. Clear out before Derek gives you a permanent vag with that pen he's about to snap in two. Coz I'm telling you now, if he doesn't, I will."

Mel locked eyes with Jazz and realised he wasn't fucking about.

"Fine. But…hell…how much longer do you think that sick sister story is going to hold out?" he said as he walked away.

Derek leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

"He's gone." Penny's soft voice said. Derek blew out a breath. "Still no word?" She put a hand on his arm. Derek shook his head.

"Her sister's not really sick is she?" Penny asked. Casey had been AWOL for three weeks. She hadn't even contacted Penny to ask her to collect notes and things from their classes. But her friend had done it all the same. It had become a weekly ritual, bringing everything to Derek at the end of the week. It was the only time Penny saw him these days. The end of the week lounge under the tree where he pretended he still existed and took the notes from her gratefully.

Derek snorted. "Her sister is sick. She's in a coma."

"Derek. Jazz and I care. You need to tell us what's going on." Penny took a deep breath. "_Has_ she left you?"

She didn't think it was likely, because if anything Casey seemed to be getting closer to her husband in the days leading up to her abrupt departure, but Penny didn't like the way Derek looked right now. Something was seriously wrong.

"Penny's right." Jazz said, rubbing his new girlfriend's back supportively. "You can talk to us."

Derek looked away. He honestly wished he could but there was no one he could share this with. Especially not his two loved-up friends in front of him.

"She's gone home to see her sister in hospital. It's taking longer than expected for her to come back." He told them as honestly as he could.

"Did you have a fight?" Jazz pushed.

"No!" Derek protested.

_No. I know she's in danger and there is fuck all I can do about it. And you two going on and on about her leaving me almost makes me feel as though that is what has actually happened._

Jazz moved back under the vehemence of his exclamation. "Sorry. It's just you look really bad, man. Everyone has noticed."  
Derek sighed. "I'm worried about her. That's all. She's going through a lot and I can't be there."

"You really love her don't you?" Penny asked.

"I'm her husband." Was all he replied.

.

The bus journey home was his favourite time of the day, because it was one of the most hopeful times. It was on the journey home that he thought about her being there when he let himself into the apartment: there, waiting after more than three weeks of her absence. He still held out hope. But as he got off the bus at his usual stop and walked towards the apartment, he knew the chance was slim. Angelo had told him something had gone wrong as they tried to bring Casey home. They weren't sure when or if it was going to be safe to bring her back. Angelo had told him to get on with things and if she was coming back it would happen in time.

He had gone to the admin office and requested a leave of absence for his wife, citing her sister's illness. The staff had smiled warmly and sent her their best wishes. Casey had not been at this college long, but already she had done her usual job of charming those in authority.

Derek checked the parked cars automatically, looking for the usual type of non-descript car. It was a van again when he finally spotted it. He made no sign that he noticed the van and made his way to the apartment, grateful that at least tonight wasn't a shopping night. Mario had taken to asking where Casey was every time he went into the store. He slid the key into the front door lock and held his breath, but when he pushed the door open, the apartment was just as he had left it this morning.

It was clean and tidy not because he had become house-proud in Casey's absence, but because he needed something to do in the evenings. Having exhausted everything else, his last resort was cleaning.

Tonight, the apartment was already spotless and he sighed because he would have given anything for an argument with Casey about underwear lying on the bathroom floor.

"Where are you, Casey?" He asked the empty apartment for the umpteenth time in three weeks. "Where the fuck are you, honey?"

* * *

The following Monday he woke at exactly the same time as he had the previous day – the time that Casey always set the alarm clock for. But Derek hadn't set it. He hadn't set it in two and a half weeks yet he woke at the same time as normal. He lay in bed, looking at the empty space beside him hating the fact that he had changed the sheets on the bed that first week and lost the scent of her hair on the pillow. He changed the bed once a week the way Casey did – once the smell had gone there was no reason not to.

Eventually, he got up, showered and dressed, then made his way into the kitchen area to make himself some breakfast. He made enough coffee for two, though he only ever drank one cup and then he added 'coffee' to the shopping list pad Casey had stuck on the fridge. He went through the normal morning routine of putting out the trash, washing up and wiping down the surfaces: not house-proud, just grateful for another reason not to leave the apartment just yet. He wanted to be here when Casey came home.

Finally, when there was nothing left to do and it was getting close to the time for him to catch his bus, he left the apartment.

He mused on the walk to the stop how everyday ran into every other day now. That some days were so alike it was like being part of that old film "Groundhog Day". He was caught in a vicious loop of repeated actions, as though he couldn't move on.

As he got on the bus and looked out at the passing streets, the same thought that had hounded him for three weeks hit again. Was it really too much to ask for just a text?

Just a short, 'I'm ok' would be enough.

He rested his forehead against the cold glass and sighed. No. A text wouldn't be enough. Nothing short of seeing Casey would make things better: to see her and to be able to hold her.

He closed his eyes pushing that thought from his mind. No. Not hold her. He would willingly give up all opportunity to touch Casey, if she would just come back in one piece.

* * *

The first class rolled into the second and then the third. Derek's day disappeared in another whirl of thoughts of Casey and half-heard lecture notes. He wondered if he was going insane.

This day, he broke with routine again. It normally happened about once a week, but it was normally around Wednesday time. Today, he went into a liquor store near the apartment and bought a large pack of beer. He didn't plan on spending tonight sober.

Derek walked down the street to the apartment as he had done on Friday, but as he passed the van he aimed a strong kick at the side door. He was rewarded with a very impressive sounding _clung!_ and an immediate sensation of pain as he realised he had hurt his foot.

He hobbled on to the apartment, let himself in and immediately cracked open the first can.

At some point that night, he ordered pizza and ate it, leaving the empty carton on the coffee table among the five or six empty can he had drained. He cursed his own stupidity of choosing beer to get drunk rather than something stronger. Beer made you piss more and he had lost count of the number of times he had had to struggle to the bathroom.

He tried watching sport on the TV, but he couldn't focus. He tried firing up the laptop and bombarding the old email addresses with queries as to Casey's whereabouts, but the emails were bounced back by the mail-daemon as usual and he gave up and shoved the laptop away roughly. Then he had a thought and pulled it to him again, clicking slowly at first and then speeding up as he got more impatient before pulling up the correct folder with their wedding pictures on it.

It was strange how normal the wedding looked. A girl and boy in the right clothes, posing for the right pictures: the ones which don't immediately shout "we hate each other". There was even once picture of them kissing and if he didn't know better he would have said they were both heavily into it.

He smiled as he got to the picture of just Casey sitting to one side, her chin resting on her hand, her eyes wistful. When he got chance he was going to get that one framed. He set the picture as the screensaver on the laptop and lay on the couch watching her bounce slowly across the screen. He played with the gold band on his finger, twisting it, thoughtfully, taking it off and putting it back on again, rubbing his little finger inside the ring, feeling the engraved initials CM + DV. He pulled the ring off to look at the letters – and immediately dropped it. There was a ping as it hit the floor and then rolled under the couch.

"Shit!" he hissed, rolling off the couch himself and shoving it to one side, his heart in his mouth as he realised he couldn't find it. Casey was going to kill him.

He sat back on his heels and part of him wondered if it was an omen. He bent again, and looked harder, this time rewarded with the glint of gold in a distance corner. He pushed the couch a little further and quickly grabbed the exposed ring.

Derek dusted it off, and put it back on his finger, pulling the couch back into position.

Flopping into it, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and made a mental note to vacuum under the couch the following evening when he was less…indisposed.

The rest of the night was a mess of bathroom trips and trash on the TV, interspersed with a bouncing Las Vegas Casey on his laptop.

Eventually, Derek passed out more drunk than normal and convinced he could smell Casey's perfume and hair.


	31. Agreement

Derek woke in the middle of the night needing to vomit. The trouble was, he had some how managed to make it into bed which left him just that little bit too far from the bathroom to make it comfortably. He ran.

Relieved when he made it to the toilet without making a mess, he vomited, cleaned himself up and then sat propped up in the doorway, his face covered in sweat and his heart racing. He must have drunk most of the beer he had bought, because it took a lot for him to get wasted from just beer. He let his gaze fall towards the coffee table and the pile of cans he knew were there to see how many it had been.

They were gone.

He frowned, wondering if his ridiculous need to do housework had reared its ugly head in the midst of his drunken stupor and he had actually tidied up before he went to bed. He certainly couldn't remember doing it.

Derek sighed. It must have been in that period of last night where he pulled himself off the couch and made it to the bedroom. He couldn't remember that either. He chuckled at the thought of him clearing up while drunk. He didn't know he had it in him. But he must have done. Either that or the little hangover fairy had shown up early and…

Derek sat bolt upright as his drink-addled mind processed the thought. A little hangover fairy…or…? He stood up gingerly, and stepped towards the couch.

Not a little hangover fairy. Just a prodigal wife.

He looked down on her as she slept curled up on the couch, a couple of the spare blankets thrown over her. Derek smiled and in what would seem a reckless manoeuvre in the cold light of day, drunkenly bent and slid his hands under her, lifting her up into his arms. Casey shifted closer to him and he tested his grip on her form and then started towards the bedroom. She stirred.

"What are you doing Derek?" She asked sleepily.

"Putting you to bed." He replied.

"I can't sleep there." She protested weakly, her eyes closing again. "George's orders. He said if I sleep in the same bed as you it will make the divorce harder."

"Dad knows?!" Derek hissed loudly, in the dark of the apartment, it was most natural to whisper.

"MMmm." Casey murmured, the warmth of his arms and the unique Derek scent lulling her back to the land of nod.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." He insisted. "But tonight you'll sleep in our bed."

She nodded. "K." And her eyes never opened.

Fortunately, Casey was already in her pyjamas, so he pulled back the comforter and laid her on the side of the bed she usually used. He covered her back up and bent to kiss her forehead, noting that his own clothes were rumpled jeans and a t-shirt that had seen better days. He decided to go shower and change. He was sharing a bed again. His wife was home.

.

The shock of seeing Casey and the warmth of the shower had sobered Derek up to the point where he was aware of the headache brewing. If he was going to get some sleep tonight he needed to take something for his headache. He threw back two painkillers, cleaned his teeth and, once he was sure he was completely dry, changed into his usual night-time attire of pyjama bottoms and t-shirt.

It was reassuring to be able to crawl into bed beside Casey, even with her comment about not being able to carry on sharing a bed. She was back and she was okay and…

The rest would have to wait until the morning, but he _was_ going to get some answers.

Derek's head touched the pillow and Casey immediately turned into his side, her hand on his chest. He chuckled quietly. Casey may _talk _about obeying George, but her sub-conscious had other ideas. He shuffled to make himself comfortable, being careful not to disturb her, and then tightened the circle of his arms around her.

Sleep came easily.

* * *

"Shit!" Casey said sitting up so quickly she wrenched Derek's arms from her, waking him up in the process. "Have you seen the time?!"

Derek frowned. "No. Why?" He squinted across at the alarm clock, which of course, as per the past three weeks, he hadn't set. "Oh fuck!" He said, sitting bolt upright in a mirror of Casey's own movements. He had an end of year final today. "I showered at 3am. You go in the bathroom first. I'll stick some toast on."

"Thanks!" Casey said, running for the bathroom, grabbing a fresh towel on the way.

She emerged ten minutes later looking every bit as put together as she usually did. He smirked and handed her a slice of toast as they met at the front door.

"How do you do that?" He asked. "I thought women were supposed to take hours to get ready."

Casey snorted. "Women who can take that long have never had to share a bathroom with you."

"Ha ha."

They grinned at each other as Derek locked the door behind them.

"We're going to have to run for it." Derek said, grabbing Casey's hand.

It was a frantic rush, but eventually, they made it onto the bus on time, swinging into their normal seat just as the doors closed behind them.

"Wow!" Casey said. "I don't need mornings like that."

"Did I hear you _swear_ earlier?"

"Blame your godfather. I tell you, that guy swears like a…"

"…Venturi?" Derek finished for her. Casey grinned.

"Yes."

He shrugged. "I guess that makes you a late starter."

Casey rolled her eyes at him, but he didn't miss the smile, and a few minutes later she nudged his arm.

"You okay?" She asked. "You were pretty drunk last night."

"I threw up a couple of times in the night and took some painkillers. I'm fine. You?"

"I wasn't drunk, Derek."  
"I meant the fact I haven't seen you for three weeks, dumb-ass."

Casey sighed. "I'm fine. There was a hiccup en route to the airfield and we had to take a diversion."

"Diversion? To where?"  
"Vancouver."

"Vancouver?! That's where you've been?"

"Yes. Let's talk tonight. I'll make fajitas and you can inhale them while I talk."

"You know me too well." Derek nodded.

"So George tells me." Casey replied ruefully. She caught Derek's look. "Tonight…please."

"You won't tell me anything about the last three weeks until then?" Derek asked in disbelief.

Casey's face brightened. "I'll tell you one thing." She announced. "Lizzie's awake."

Derek stared at her. "You're kidding?"

"No. She squeezed our hands and said our names, and berated an absent Edwin for not being there when she woke up."

Derek laughed and pulled Casey to him enthusiastically. "Oh god! I'm so relieved." He said, pressing a kiss in her hair.

"So am I." Casey said, looking up at him. "She's frail and looks like a newborn sparrow, but she's alive and…that's enough."

They shared a moment for their sibling, and then Derek brushed the hair from Casey's face.

"I'm glad you're okay too. All they would tell me was that you would be a while."  
"I wasn't allowed to call. I'm sorry."

"S'ok. At least I know where you are now. You're staying?"  
She smiled. "Oh yes! I'll be blighting your love life for a while longer."

Derek glanced out of the window. "Mel will be disappointed. He thinks you dumped me and that I should go grab some ass to get over you." Her jaw dropped.

"Did you?"

Derek looked back. "Did I what?"  
"Grab some "ass" while I was gone?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm married."

"To me, Derek." Casey pointed out. "It's not as though…"

"We've had this discussion. I'm enjoying the break."

Casey's look was sceptical but she said nothing.

"I wouldn't do that to you, princess." He lifted the locket he had given her away from the skin of her neck with his finger. "I thought you realised that."

Casey shook her head, remembering George and the conversation where he gave Casey her rules.

"I take it the 'rents are less than impressed." Derek dropped his voice to a murmur.

"Can you blame them?"  
He shrugged. "We're 21, Casey. We are adults who can marry who the hell we please."

"It's not as simple as that, and you know it."  
"Casey. It is as simple as that. They don't have a right to tell us what to do. They can sigh and say it isn't what they had hoped for us, but they cannot tell us what to do."  
"I think your dad was putting his legal head on, talking about the complications to the annulment."

"People get divorced all the time. So long as you and I agree how things are there should be no complications."

"He says I should sleep on the couch."

"He's never been to the apartment and he's never tried to sleep on that couch. You're sleeping in our bed." He said it decisively, and that made Casey raise an eyebrow. "If you want to." He amended.

"He says we shouldn't touch each other unless we're in public and then he says it should be _restrained_."

"What he doesn't know…"

Casey chuckled. "Sorry Venturi, was that you telling me to go behind our parents' back and _date_ you? Remember me? Klutzilla, the bane of your existence., Your…"  
"My wife." He finished. "Okay. I know it's screwy, but so is Dad's plan." He leaned forward. "If you over-think a good lie, no-one believes it." He whispered. "You have to stay natural and stick as close to the truth as possible. It's why I told everyone at college that you'd gone to visit your sister who was in a coma. It's the truth; as is our marriage."

"And the affection?" Casey asked pointedly.

Derek kissed the end of her nose. "I'll live."

They watched each other carefully until the bus jerked breaking the spell. Derek changed the subject and started talking about college.

* * *

Casey walked with Derek to his exam hall. After all the rushing he still had fifteen minutes until he would be allowed into his exam and Casey had half an hour till her first class. Derek picked a spot of wall beside the entrance and leaned up against it. Casey did the same.

"Are you prepared?" She asked.

He snorted. "What else have I had to do with my evenings for the last three weeks except study?"  
"Clean….get drunk." She laughed. "I saw how tidy the apartment was when I got there – beer cans excepted."

"How did I get into bed?"  
"Mac." Casey said simply. "He brought me back and when we saw you passed out, he lifted you into the bedroom. He was impressed with the number of empties by the way. Said he might have to challenge you one day."  
Derek shook his head. "No way! A hard nose like him…he'd eat me alive."  
"You haven't been drinking like that often have you?" Casey asked with concern on her face.  
"Drinking? Once a week. Drinking like that…once in a lifetime, believe me. I missed you." He said quietly.

"I missed you too." Casey said and to his surprise she stepped closer and raised her face to be kissed. Derek obliged with the small kiss she was offering and looked expectantly at her.

"I guess you are right." She said.

"Finally she admits it!" He joked.

"I meant about what George doesn't know won't hurt him."

Derek smirked at her.

"The question is who will it hurt?"

"You're over-thinking again." Derek warned softly.

Casey shrugged. "What are we, Derek?"

"We're a foolish pair who decided to get married ridiculously young." He said. "It's the truth."

"It's _a_ truth." Casey corrected.

"Casey. Don't complicate it." He said leaning forward for another kiss. "Keep. It. Simple." He punctuated each word with a kiss and then deepened the last one. The kiss became more passionate causing Casey to fall against him in order to stay upright – and they were both reliant on the wall to achieve that.

"About fucking time!" Jazz said from somewhere, forcing them to separate in embarrassment. Casey's eyes were wild and Derek didn't look much better. He muttered something under his breath causing Jazz to laugh and smack him on the back.

"Hi Case! Glad you're back. Derek's been a nightmare without you."

Casey smirked and glanced at Derek who looked strangely embarrassed.

"Aw!" She teased. "You really did miss me."

Derek rolled his eyes and as they opened the exam hall doors then picked up his bag.

"I've got an exam to sit. Clear off woman and leave us all in peace." He bent back to Casey. "And stop it with the over-thinking." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Good luck!" She whispered.

"With you or the exam?" He rejoined.


	32. Relationships

"Who's Rosemary?" Casey asked, settling back on the couch next to Derek and tucking her legs under her. It was the evening of the same day and over tex mex she had just related to him the circumstances of her trip back to Canada including the mind-numbingly frustrating lack of events once they reached Vancouver.

Derek shrugged.

"Rosemary who?"  
Casey frowned. "I don't know. It's something I over heard Bob discussing with Susie. I get the feeling she's some sort of information source, but Bob kept talking about family and..." her voice petered out while she watched what Derek was doing. He had picked up a lock of her hair from her shoulder and was rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger thoughtfully. Casey watched him a small smile on her lips.

"Cats do that." She said after a moment.

"Cats do what?" He asked still distracted.

Casey chuckled. "Play with long hair."

He realised what he was doing and dropped the hair as though it had suddenly got hot in his hands.

"So…Rosemary." He said rubbing his hands on his jeans and trying to draw her attention back to what they had been discussing, and away from his openly affectionate touching. "Never heard of her, but then up until Lizzie got hurt I'd never known we were Cosa Nostra."

Casey grinned and sipped at her rooibos tea. "You love saying that, don't you? I bet you think of yourself as Al Pacino or something."

"'I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.'" Derek quoted in his best Pacino voice. He finished with a smirk. Casey giggled and Derek frowned.

"Hey. Don't take the piss. My mob connections are what's keeping you alive right now." He looked offended and Casey rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. It's just you sounded like Barry White again."

"Gee thanks!" Derek muttered into her hair. Then he realised what he was doing and moved away from her. "Can we start arguing again please? You're making me nervous."

"Gee thanks!" She retorted, but she too moved away. "Anyway, I just got the impression that Rosemary was someone your dad knows _very_ well." Casey said wondering if this was something she should really be sharing with Derek.

"Meaning?" Derek picked up on her tone.

"Susie asked where Bob was getting his information from and whether it was reliable. Bob was adamant the source was good – and loyal. When Susie questioned how he could be so sure, Bob said it was someone close to the family. Susie asked which family, the mob or the Venturis and Bob replied "both". Then he said something strange. He said that of course George didn't approve of Bob using this source because it was part of the past he tried hard to bury. Susie asked him what he meant by that, and Bob said it was a long story and he didn't have time to tell it, but that Rose was unbreakable. She would never hurt George."

Derek was quiet for a while. "You think she's someone my dad was involved with in the past?"

Casey tilted her head to one side. "I don't know. How much do you know about your dad's love life?"

He stared at her.

"How much do you know about _your_ dad's love life?" He replied. "Exactly! Nothing. I know that he had a couple of girlfriends before mom, and I sort of assumed that they had sex…he's a Venturi after all."

"Meaning he couldn't keep it in his pants either." Casey stated.

Derek looked at her amused. "You do realise that's your step-father you're talking about?"

"And your father. Gross eh?"

"So I guess we still don't know who Rosemary is. Certainly not someone in the family. I mean, I think there's an Aunt Rose somewhere down the line, but not Rosemary."  
Casey's eyes widened. "Rose could be short for Rosemary."

"An aunt, Casey. I doubt my father would be involved with his own aunt."

"I guess not. I mean it's not like it's normal for a Venturi to be involved with a close relative." She pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"You aren't a close relative and we're _not_ involved!"

"No." Casey smirked. "We're married."

Derek made a snorting noise again and scratched his head. "What happened after you were holed up?"

"Well Bob kept disappearing every couple of days saying that he needed to "touch base" so it was just Susie and me. I did some college work, read books, but mostly I just waited. The safe house was nice: big and expensive and Susie and I talked a lot. She told me about some of the cases she and Bob had worked in the past. I think she has a real thing for him."

Derek snorted. "Well good luck to her. He's a confirmed bachelor from what Dad's told me."

Casey pulled a face. "I don't know about that. They're cute together. Maybe she'll be the _one_."

"Oh gimme a break, McDonald. You still harping on about everyone having _someone_?" he knew that she would get defensive. She always did. The concept of there being a Mr Right / Miss Right for every person was one of Casey's main philosophies in life. It was one of the little things that made her an innocent in a guilty world. Calling her out on it was a guaranteed way to get them into an argument. Right now he needed to argue with Casey.

"Everyone has a weakness, Derek. Maybe Susie is Bob's."

"Bull! Not everyone has a true love. People fall heavily in lust or deep friendship. They don't fall in love."

"You're too young to be a cynic." She dismissed his comments with a sip of her drink.

"I may be young, but I've also seen too many relationships fail to believe in true love."

"Are you serious?" She asked in disbelief. Derek relented.

"Okay. So maybe sometimes, some people get lucky. But for most people…" His voice trailed away.

Casey sighed. "That's sad Derek."

"More like it's realistic. Casey, it doesn't pay to be sentimental."  
"It doesn't pay to be cynical either." Casey said in a strangely offended tone.

"Hey. Don't take it personally." He said, seeing the hurt in her eyes.

"Why not? My husband just told me he doesn't believe in love." She protested.

Stunned, Derek gave her a funny look before reaching forward to switch on the TV.

"You're…just weird." He said, for some reason liking the discomfort currently on her face; not liking her hurt, but liking the sentiment behind it.

They watched a DVD and picked at chips. In deference to George's idea he made a conscious effort to stay away from her but the couch wasn't big and his wife was tired. Before the movie had finished, Casey fell asleep against Derek's shoulder. He smiled and shuffled to make them both more comfortable, enjoying the sensation when she slid her arms around his middle, snuggling closer. Later, when he had relocated both of them to the bedroom and was lying away from her in the bed, she woke up a little moved closer and resumed her embrace. He didn't stop her.

"Is this okay?" she asked in the dark.

"Well I doubt Dad would like it." He said with amusement as she frowned at his words. "Yeah. It's fine. Go to sleep."

She tilted her head up to his and he kissed her softly for a moment.

"Goodnight sweetheart."

* * *

"We need to re-schedule the guys coming round to celebrate your birthday." Derek said the next morning in the kitchen. "I cancelled it when Mac whisked you off to Canada."  
"That would be nice. How about on Saturday?" Casey suggested because it would be nice to spend some time with their friends, especially Jazz and Penny who seemed to have managed to get together without anyone's help.

"I'll ask them. We'll get take out, because you shouldn't have to cook for that lot. Your cooking is too good for them." Derek said pouring cereal into a bowl.  
"Was that a compliment?" Casey asked, passing him the milk from where she was sitting at the breakfast counter.

Derek smirked at her and raised a spoon to his mouth. "Nah. Your ears need syringing." He shovelled the mouthful of cereal in.

"Derek. That's gross!"

In disgust, Casey walked to the sink and placed her own, empty bowl inside then she made her way to the bathroom for her shower.

The next time Derek saw her was in the bedroom. She was showered and changed and applying her make-up. She looked really good this morning and Derek kept replaying the sight of her spooned against his body when they woke. He sat down beside her on the bed and rested his chin on her shoulder from behind.

"What have you got today?" He asked conversationally. Casey told him. Derek had another test.

"How come I get all the tests?" He protested.

"Mine start tomorrow." Casey said. "It's a good thing I only have the four and I was up to date before I went away. Otherwise I would be panicking. I'm going to spend some time in the library after class today. Shall I just say we'll meet at home rather than travel back together?"

"Sure. Lunch though?" He asked, his breath tickling her neck. Casey flushed. This affection was nothing new…in public, but they weren't in public. They were sitting on the end of their bed.

"Erm…lunch would be nice." She stammered. Derek kissed her neck.

"I'm done at 12.30. Same place as usual?"  
Casey nodded, finished her make up and pulled away from Derek as she started to put the brushes and tiny pots away. She glanced up at Derek who was gazing at her intently. He frowned.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" He asked suddenly. Casey thought about it for a moment.

"No." She admitted. Derek smiled.

"Good." He said, grabbing his wallet from the bedside table and going to wait in the living room.

.

Lunch was just the four of them: Casey, Derek, Penny and Jazz. They sat in a booth along the back wall of the diner, a couple per side and the newest pair seemed heavily into each other.

"You know," Derek whispered to Casey as they watched Jazz nuzzling Penny's neck and Penny giggling. "They really need to get a room."

Casey rolled her eyes as the couple kissed.

"Do you think they remember we're here?"

Her husband shook his head. "Nope. Let's hope they come up for air when the food arrives."

"I thought _we_ were supposed to be the newly weds?" Casey noted. Derek smirked at her.

"Envious?" He questioned moving closer to her.

"Of what?" Casey tried to move back but she had no where else to go.

"Their PDA." Derek said, bending to nuzzle Casey's neck.

"No." Her voice was extra firm.

Derek lifted his head to look at her.

""No" you aren't envious or "No Derek stop molesting me?" It was an important question. Casey shifted on the bench seat of the booth her heart starting to race when Derek closed his own hand over hers which was resting between them and moved back to kissing her neck.

"I'm not envious." Casey murmured and he heard her even though there was noise from the kitchen and piped music.

He shrugged and when he spoke his mouth was close to her ear so she heard every whispered word.

"What are you then?" he asked, kissing the skin on her collarbone.

Before Casey could answer, the waiter appeared with their food. Derek pulled back, squeezed Casey's hand and turned.

"I'll tell you what _I_ am." He announced. "Hungry." He said and attacked the plate in front of him.


	33. Friends

"How do you guys feel about Florida?" Jazz said from the couch where he was sitting with Penny. It was hard to see where the one finished and the other began, their limbs were so wound together.

"Sun, sea, sex!" Carl grinned. "_The_ life!"

Jazz grinned and exchanged a look with Derek. "What about you D? Feel like seeing Casey in a bikini?"  
"Why?" Derek asked cautiously, not liking the way the conversation was going. Jazz knew better than to bring up Casey and her body in front of Mel and Carl.

"My Dad's company has a beach house down there and I've managed to wangle it for a week."

The others all gasped. "You lucky fucker!" Carl spluttered.

"I second that." Derek said from the armchair where he and Casey were, strangely, not in too dissimilar a position to Jazz and Penny. "How come?"

Jazz untangled himself from his girlfriend and sat forward. "I got my predicted grades for the year and they are so stellar my Dad is releasing the house to me for the amazing period of _one week_, can you believe it?"  
"That's great, Jazz. Have fun." Penny didn't sound impressed. Jazz frowned.

"No you set of numbskulls! I meant we all get to go. All six of us! There are three bedrooms, so you two jackasses will have to share," he nodded to Mel and Carl. "But at least your room has twin beds. What do you say Derek? You and Casey in?"

"You're serious?" Derek gasped.

"Totally. I can borrow one of the people carrier efforts from the car pool too so we'd only need to take one car, split the gas six ways, and the only other expense is food and drinking money."

Derek looked at Casey. "Are we in?" he asked. He saw her look uncertain and wondered what the problem was.

"We'll need to ask." Casey said quietly.

Jazz laughed. "Ask who? You're adults!" But Derek understood. They could only go if the FBI could arrange for their protection detail to go with them. Derek wasn't ready to give up though. The thought of a nice hot beach after the cold winter, drama and hard work was too much to ignore.

"It'll be fine, but yeah, I'll check. When were you thinking of going?"  
"I thought maybe the week after the Summer Ball. That way the post-college rush should have died down a little. It ties in nicely with a week where no-one has requested the beach house, so what d'ya think?"  
Penny beamed. "I think it sounds great! I'm in!" _That figures_ thought Casey slightly uncharitably. Uninterrupted boyfriend time was always going to appeal to a girl just beginning a new romance.

Mel and Carl laughed loudly. "We're in." _What a surprise! No doubt we'll be sharing a kitchen with two new girls every morning._

"Casey?" Derek asked breaking across her thoughts. She shook her head to clear it of the unwelcome images and met his gaze. "We don't start the internship until July. That would be just right."

"Sure. So long as…"

"We're in!" Derek cut her off, making the decision for both of them. His whole face had brightened and despite herself, Casey found she was excited at the prospect too.

Jazz grabbed another beer from the table in front of him and opened it, then he leaned back on the couch and pulled Penny close again. "I'll let you know the arrangements. It's going to be _so fucking cool!_"

Mel smirked. "I know. All those bikinis!" He sounded like a child panting over an ice cream and the rest laughed.

Casey looked across at Penny. "So are you two going to the Summer Ball?" She asked, ignoring the banter that was now going on between the guys. Penny nodded.

"It took a bit of persuasion, but yes, we're going. What about you two?"  
Casey sighed. "I don't know. I need to talk to Derek about it. He hates that sort of thing, but I really want to go."

"Really want to go where?" Derek asked, ducking his head under Casey's arm so that he could see Penny.

"The Summer Ball."

"Does that require dressing up in penguin suits and dancing?" He asked with a look of distaste on his face. Casey nodded. He pouted. "You really want to go?"

She nodded again.

He sighed. "Okay. We'll go." He conceded. Casey squealed and Derek suddenly felt very whipped.

Later, when the film they had rented was playing and the room was in darkness. Casey lifted her lips to Derek's ear.

"You don't have to do that you know…the Ball thing." She whispered so as not to disturb anyone else.

Derek moved so that his lips were by her ear. "It's fine. You want to and it helps our cover. Let's do it."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Just don't make a habit of expecting to get your own way."

"You'll enjoy it. Jazz is going. You can sit in the corner and be grouchy together."

"You'll owe me big time."

"You'll get your reward in heaven, Derek." She grinned and then she kissed him on the cheek and when he turned to smile at her, she kissed him on the lips. Derek's eyes widened and he went back for another deeper kiss. Casey let herself sink into the kiss, closing her eyes and just feeling the softness of his lips and his fingers as they brushed the back of her neck. They both shifted slightly in the armchair bringing their bodies closer together and the kisses continued quietly.

Their friends watched the film, but Derek and Casey watched each other, their fingers meeting and playing together and their lips doing likewise. Derek felt torn because he knew this wouldn't be happening if they were alone, but all the same the need to be alone with Casey was growing as she attacked him. His wife was a phenomenal assailant.

Eventually, they slowed down and Casey rested her forehead against his neck.

"Jesus, Casey!" Derek whispered. She said nothing, only kissed him lightly on the soft skin of his neck, her nose brushing his skin too, making him shiver.

Conscious that they weren't alone, Derek looked across at the other occupants of the room. Mel and Carl were sitting on the floor knocking beers back like they were going out of fashion, whispering loudly about the film and its plot. Jazz and Penny were also making out, in fact Derek was a little suspicious about where Jazz's hands were. Either he was copping a feel or Penny had one breast larger than the other and Derek hadn't noticed before. He snickered softly and Casey looked up. Derek nodded across at their friends and she turned to look.

"Charming!" She said rolling her eyes.

"Young love, Casey."

"What happened to cynical Derek?"  
"Hey this _is_ cynical Derek."

"Do you think we should throw water at them?" Casey asked, jokingly.

"Water?"  
"That's what you do to mating cats."

Derek nuzzled her neck again. "You're beginning to sound like the mad cat woman from hell, honey. Do you purr too?" Derek realised the double entendre and smirked.

"Who knows?" he teased. "Maybe I'll find out one day."

Casey's jaw dropped and forgetting himself, he laughed loudly.

"Shhh!" Carl called without looking back and Casey elbowed Derek in the ribs.

.

"See you on Monday!" Casey called to Penny as their friends left. Derek nodded to Angelo who he could see standing in the shadows by the stairs and then closed and locked the front door.

"Thanks." Casey said, yawning. "That was nice tonight." She smiled at him. "You were nice tonight; none of your stupid ass tricks or comments." She frowned. "Apart from the one…"

"…about purring…" Derek finished with her. He grinned. "You know me. I can't help that sort of thing. I think it's genetic."

"Oh god yes! The only thing worse than your sense of humour is your father's."

"And Ed's."

"Don't be silly Derek. Edwin doesn't have a sense of humour."

And they both laughed at that before Casey's face sobered.

"I miss him. I miss all of them."

Derek nodded and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Me too, sweetheart."

"We should tidy up." Casey said when they had recovered their decorum.

"In the morning." Derek pleaded.

"It won't take five minutes." She said, grabbing a bin bag from the kitchen drawer.

Derek took it from her and held it open, muttering under his breath which caused Casey to chuckle as she worked.

They collected all the rubbish from the take-out and beer cans, and then wiped down the coffee table and kitchen surfaces. Casey was right. It didn't take long.

Derek immediately flopped onto the couch and made himself comfortable, spreading out so that he took up all the space.

"I think I'm off to bed." Casey said, starting to walk to their bedroom.

"Don't." Derek said reaching behind himself and catching her arm. "Come here."

She obeyed and raised an eyebrow when he sat up and patted the couch beside him.

"What's up?" Casey asked.

"About earlier…" Derek started. "We need to talk."

He was watching her face for a reaction so he saw the flash of hurt across her features. It made him smile internally and he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"Not that kind of talk, honey." He said and his kisses reached her lips.

"You're a bad influence." Casey murmured a moment later. "I'm trying to do as your father told me and you are determined to make me a rebel."

"No. I just want to kiss my wife." Derek said, scratching the side of his nose with a hand which still held hers. "What's rebellious about that?"  
"I hate Derek logic." She muttered and then moaned as he kissed her long and hard again. She unintentionally slipped down on the couch until she was under him.

"Still hate Derek logic?" He asked with a smirk looming over her.

She groaned from the undignified position she was in.

"Any chance you could help me sit up?" She asked tartly.

"How about we go to bed, instead?" He asked. "It will be more comfortable."

Casey cocked an eyebrow at him. "A line, Derek? Seriously?"

"I didn't mean it like that." He smirked. "…much."

"Kissing's one thing…"

Derek stood up and helped her up. When they were upright and face to face again, he took hold of her hands.

"Casey. I'm not going to over step the mark, I promise."

She gazed up at him. "I think the mark is so blurred no one can tell where it is." Casey sighed quietly.

"I won't have sex with you."

"I wasn't asking you to."

He chuckled and so did she. "I'll behave." He said letting go of her hands and starting for the bathroom. He stopped at the door. "Or rather, I'll behave if _you_ will."

.

When they were ready for bed, they both lay staring at the ceiling.

"What is this?" Casey asked. "Just what exactly are we doing?"  
Derek stretched and placed his hands behind his head. "It would appear you were right, though it galls me to say it."

"Oh?" Casey asked suspiciously.

"I don't do celibacy. There's always a girl." He smirked.

"I'm not going to be your convenient little…"

Derek interrupted her.

"Casey. I was joking okay?"

"Not a funny joke Derek seeing as I'm fairly sure that wasn't far from the truth."  
"You think I'm kissing you because I can't date anyone else?" Derek sounded disgusted. She said nothing.

Derek rolled onto his side extremely close to Casey.

"I'll tell you why I kiss you." He spoke tersely. "I kiss you because you're beautiful, intelligent and I care about you. That's always been the case, almost from day one, despite how it looked. I do care about you. I wouldn't have married you if I didn't. So kissing you is not about you being the only convenient female. It's about so much more than that." He smirked and leaned over to kiss her again.

Casey closed her eyes and let him, her fingers finding his hair.

"Besides," he said, coming up for air. "_You_ always kiss back."

* * *

**AN: I've had a complaint that there is too much Dasey in this so I've decided that Casey is going to leave Derek for one of two people…your votes please:**

**1: An accountant with a comb-over**

**2: A cute blonde with green eyes because Casey always had a thing for Sally…**

**Seriously, am I really over-doing the Dasey?**


	34. Family

"Are you okay?" Dennis asked Nora when he arrived at the hospital. His ex-wife looked drained, tired. He reminded himself yet again that the woman in front of him was mother to more than just the young girl on the other side of the door. She was mother to two other girls and three boys, all of whom could hardly be considered easy off-spring to parent. Dennis pushed aside the little inappropriate spark of humour inside himself which wanted to add George Venturi to the list of children. Nora sighed, bringing his attention back to her.

"Robbie had toothache so I was up in the night with him. I gave him something for the pain and he went back off to sleep, but I couldn't. These days if I wake, I think and that's not good."

Dennis led her to a chair outside of Lizzie room. They sat down.

"Lizzie's so much better." He said comfortingly. "She's moving around, talking, eating properly. They are talking about releasing her from hospital soon. What are you worrying about?"

Nora looked up at him incredulous.

"My daughter married my step-son. What the hell do you think I'm worried about?"

Dennis looked taken aback. "Nora. You know why he did it, so if you are going to angry with someone get angry with me because this whole damn mess is my fault."

"Oh believe me, I'm angry with you. I just can't believe Casey was so…irresponsible. _Marrying_ Derek! I'd rather have seen her marrying Truman and that guy was a jerk."

Her ex-husband sighed.

"Sweetheart. Casey is a big girl and yes she maybe an innocent at times, but I doubt very much that she went into this with her eyes closed. You know, maybe this will help her and Derek get on better. Maybe they'll resolve their differences."

"That's what I'm afraid of!" Nora shouted exasperatedly. "Casey _is_ an innocent. I know for a fact she's still a virgin. Derek is not…innocent or a virgin. The tension between the two of them is palpable. They fight one minute and are bailing each other out of a crisis the next. In a confined environment, that is not a good situation, Casey's innocence is at risk."

Dennis snorted. "She's twenty one. Her innocence is at risk – period. If it wasn't Derek it would be someone else. Frankly, it's a bloody miracle it's lasted this long. These days girls don't wait for the knight in shining armour, a bed of white satin and their wedding night. Hell, you didn't!" His ex-wife scowled at him.

"Casey has. She has this idea of how she wants to fall in love, get married and give herself to the love of her life. I don't think Derek fitted in anywhere on her plan."

Casey's father sighed. He knew that Casey had high ideals, but he also knew that her relationship with Derek was unique. Nora blew out a breath.

"If they have sex, she'll fall in love. Derek isn't the commitment sort of guy. I just see our daughter coming out of all this broken and Derek just walking away."

"Nora. We can't stop our children making their own mistakes. And I think you are wrong about Derek. I think he is capable of caring very deeply about someone. Look at the day of Lizzie accident. He was here wasn't he?"

"We were all here, Dennis."

"No Nora. Derek was here _before_ the accident because Casey called him and said she didn't like how I was behaving."

Nora stared at Dennis. "I…wow!"

"Yeah. Didn't you know?"

She shook her head thoughtfully. "I still don't think this marriage is a good idea."

"I don't think they do either. I don't think they went into it for the fun of it."

"George is drawing up the divorce papers so that they can file as soon as they come home."

Dennis nodded. "Probably best." He took Nora's hand. "I'm so so sorry. I've put you through so much."  
Nora smiled weakly and patted the back of his hand. "No you didn't. Life just dealt us some big blows. And if one good thing came out of this, it's the fact that you got to come back to us and get to know George."

"You know he's asked me to join his practice don't you?" Dennis said.

Nora nodded. "He asked me if the idea freaked me out. I said it didn't. Are you thinking about it?"  
Dennis ran his hand through his hair. "No." He paused. "I phoned him this morning and told him 'yes'."

* * *

Lizzie was sitting up when they finally made it into her room. On doctor's orders, she was watching a quiz show on the little television screen hinged from the wall behind her bed. It was supposed to help her concentrate and train her brain. The more of a work-out her brain got the better her recall would be. She still struggled on long term memory and sometimes when she got tired her speech was slow.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" She greeted them cheerfully and kissed their cheeks when they bent close. She was dressed in jeans and a jersey, her brunette hair short from where it had been cut, but it was gradually growing out.

Nora smiled and reached into her handbag, pulling out a bright green envelope.

"Another letter from Edwin." She explained. "He apologised for the envelope. Apparently, the set was a present from Marti. He said to tell you the paper inside is white.

"Thanks!" Lizzie said and Nora saw the twinkle that the letter had brought to Lizzie's eye. Part of her sighed. What was it with the Venturi men and the McDonald women?

Dennis brought over the two chairs for them to sit down.

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He noted raising an eyebrow. "How are you doing?"

"$64,000 so far." Lizzie smiled. "The doc tells me when I hit six figures I can go home." They all laughed.

Lizzie's smile faded. "When _can_ I go home, Mom?"

Nora took her hand. "Soon darling. They just want to make sure you are strong. It's been a while since you moved around a lot. They want you to do a bit more physiotherapy and they want you a bit more used to the noise. It's so quiet here, and anything but at home."

"How's Casey?" Lizzie asked.

"Well she's back with Derek after the scare on her way home, but Bob can't tell me more than that."

Lizzie looked at her mother. Her coma hadn't blunted her perceptiveness.

"I'm sure Derek's treating her okay, Mom. Casey wouldn't have stayed if he was causing a problem."

"I know. I just…"

"You're worried about them getting too close?"

Dennis looked up at his youngest daughter in astonishment. She noted the look and chuckled.

"Dad. I'm almost seventeen. I'm not stupid. Mom. Derek cares about Casey, he always has. He pretends not to but she's always been important to him, like Marti. Well…maybe not like Marti as such but, you know what I mean."

"He likes all three of his sisters." Dennis said, concerned that Lizzie felt left out.

Lizzie shook her head. "He likes his two sisters and I know that I come second to Marti which is how it should be. But Casey isn't Derek's sister. She never was. And now she's his wife so it makes me shudder whenever you or anyone else refers to her as his sister."

Nora glanced at the envelope in Lizzie's hand.

"Are you going to read Edwin's letter?"

Lizzie blushed and glanced down at it. "Later." She said, and placed it on the cabinet beside her bed. "How's Marti?"

* * *

George walked into his office with a new spring in his step. He flicked the switch on his PC to boot it up and then wound the blinds to let in the sun. Scratching his head he glanced at the pile of post he had picked up earlier and contemplated opening it. Then, deciding he needed coffee first, he plodded back into the rest of the house and across to the kitchen, his bare feet patting softly on the laminated floor.

Edwin was already in the kitchen, reading the Wall Street Journal and tapping numbers into a calculator beside him on the breakfast counter while he shovelled cereal into his mouth.

"How's the portfolio doing?" George asked his middle son.

"Good…damn good. If you'd only give me the capital to do this for real we'd be in a house twice the size of this by Christmas."

George snorted. "Yeah right, Donald. Can I say Black Monday to you?"

"That was a Black Swan event dad. There were so many contributing factors, not least the Brits inability to cope with a few high winds. People have learnt from that."

George coughed something which sounded like "Lehman Brothers" and sipped at his coffee.

"Did you give Nora my letter for Lizzie?" Edwin asked, gazing at the stock market listings.

"Yup!"

"And she's going today?"

"Left this morning really early."

"You seem in a chipper mood today. Anything to do with that phone call you just took?"

George rolled his eyes. "Never could keep a bloody secret in this house."

"Language Dad! That'll be ten bucks please." Marti announced walking into the kitchen. "S'up Ed?" She said grinning at her older brother. At twelve she was turning into a younger Edwin, but without the bad hygiene, chronic gas and smelly feet.

"I'm just quizzing Dad on why he looks so pleased with himself this morning. I'd say it was Nora but she left early."  
"Edwin!" George reprimanded him. Edwin arched an eyebrow. George sighed.

"Dennis is moving to Toronto permanently. He's agreed to be my business partner."

Edwin and Marti exchanged a shocked look.

"Wow!" Edwin said. "Isn't that a bit…incestuous?"

Marti chuckled. "Why not? Our brother is married to our sister."

Edwin laughed. "I like Dennis though. He's a good guy. What does Nora say about it?"

"Well she doesn't know he's said yes, but I asked her if she minded first. I suppose it is a big deal that her ex and her current husband will be working together but, like you say, we have bigger scandals in the family right now. Dennis and I have talked a lot about our profession recently and we agree on a lot. I want to make the business more sustainable, he wants to lighten up a bit from all the serious corporate stuff he's been doing. We'll both bring something to it."

Edwin looked at the kitchen clock.

"I gotta go. I got my own business to run."

George frowned. "You're at school, Ed. What sort of business could you possibly run from there?" Then he remembered some of the things Derek had got up to in high school…and then some of his own "business" ventures.

"Edwin!"

* * *

George had a lunch meeting with a client, so at eleven he decided to have a shower and get dressed. The working from home thing was good. He liked it. It had come as a result of the witness protection thing but he was tempted to make it a more permanent thing when things got back to normal.

At just before 12.30pm he entered the restaurant to meet the client, still frowning at the post-it his secretary had scribbled the details on. Miss R… something V. The table had been booked in his name, however, so he knew he would be able to find the potential client. He gave his name to the maitre d' noting how his protection officer was being shown to a small table near the entrance to the bistro, and followed the maitre d' to the small table at the back of the restaurant. He wasn't one to keep people waiting so he had arrived a little early, but he had barely sat down when the voice interrupted him.

"You're looking good George." It was a voice he could recognise in the dark…the dark of a family games cupboard.

He looked up into the deep brown eyes of Rosemary Venturi. His new "client".

* * *

**AN: Thank you for the response to my last author's note. In defence of the reviewer who mentioned too much Dasey, they are one of my more loyal fans so I forgive them for their obvious breakdown (!) The good news is I don't think I've ever had so many reviews for one chapter…I honestly didn't plan that. Oh and whilst I won't reveal what is coming up, it won't involve comb-overs or inhabitants of a Greek island. (i.e. Casey won't leave Derek for an accountant – see note below, or run off with another woman.)**

**In this chapter, Edwin and George get a bit technical about the business world. Don't fret. This isn't a lecture. However, just in case you are interested:**

**The Black Monday I am referring to (there are several events called Black Monday) was Oct 19****th**** 1987 when the stock market fell by the largest percentage in history. This actually interests me (slightly) because a) I'm married to an accountant b) I was 15 and aware of what was going on c) According to some assessments of the events of that week, my tiny tiny corner of the world had a lot to do with what happened. **

**Basically, the previous week things went a bit pear-shaped in the Asian economy after close of business on the Thursday. It wouldn't normally be a problem because the US and Europe would come in the next working day and pick up the pieces, making adjustments etc. HOWEVER, late on the Thursday night, a major storm hit the county of Kent in England – which is where this gets personal because that's where I was living at the time. The storm was the sort that only hits England once every three hundred years or so. The wind speeds were hurricane-force but we can't call it a hurricane because that term only applies to certain parts of the world.**

**By the time the following morning came, 18 people were dead (including a family friend), 15 MILLION trees had been knocked down and the south-eastern corner of England was shutdown. (The chimney bounced down the roof of my house ten minutes after my dad got us out of bed and made us sleep in the living room. The next morning we walked to school to see the damage and in half a mile I climbed over, under or walked around 15 pine trees lying on the ground.)**

**The relevance to the Black Monday event was this. To recover from the problems of the day before in Asia, the UK and European markets needed to trade on the Friday morning. But, because there were no trains running and most major road routes were blocked into London, no one could get to the stock exchange in the City, so the UK and European markets COULDN'T open.**

**Consequently, the following Monday when the markets did open, they crashed.**

**Hence the storm contributed to the crash.**

**To add insult to injury, a few months down the line when the insurance bill for the storm came in, a very large number of very famous people in the UK went bankrupt because they had lent money to Lloyds of London insurers so that the firm could underwrite insurance premiums. When people claimed after the storm and the cost of the storm totalled so much, Lloyds and large numbers of people lost their money.**

**I know this isn't hugely relevant to LWD, but I find it interesting. The way that no-one can truly predict the markets is a big reason why I will never speculate on the stock exchange – which is George's point. (BTW the Lehman's reference is a nod to my hard-working husband who is trying to unravel all the crap at Lehman UK so some people can get their money back.)**

**A Black Swan event comes from** **the** **Black Swan Theory****is used by****Nassim Nicholas Taleb****to explain the existence and occurrence of high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations.**

**Sorry….I aim to educate as well as entertain.**


	35. Progress

"What did Mac say?" Casey asked leaning back against the sink. She was dressed in pjs, her hair newly brushed ready for bed and her face flushed from whatever cleanser she had used to take off her make up.

Derek had two favourite times of the day just lately, the time of the day when he woke up next to Casey and the time of day when he went to sleep beside her. She was at her most beautiful at both times. Some days he wanted to close his eyes and wake to find that she had actually _chosen_ to marry him in Vegas and that this was all real.

But most of the time his mind did a good job of reminding him it was all a crock of shit.

"Mac said…when he'd finished freaking out about the idea of the road trip…that if we flew down there we could do it, but he doesn't have the resources to provide off-site cover for the length of time it would take us to drive there and back as well as the week in between."

"Oh."

"So I checked the cost of the flight and it's cheaper than you might think." He scratched his neck and stepped closer to her. "I spoke to the guys and they hadn't realised it was so cheap either, so we're all flying down and borrowing a car from the Florida office instead."  
Casey looked surprised…and pleased.

"Seriously? We're going to Florida?" She asked. He nodded, grinning.

"We're going to Florida!" he said, catching her by the waist and spinning her around. When he stopped she slid down in his hands and came to rest pressed up against him. Derek took advantage of her new proximity and kissed her.

"I think you should buy a new bikini." He said in a warm, deep voice that made her blush.

"Really? And why would that be?"  
He coughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Because I've seen you in all your bikinis and they just scream 'step-sis' at me. I'd like my girlfriend wearing something a little more…appealing."

She tilted her head to one side and regarded him carefully. "Girlfriend?"

"Just keeping it real." He grinned, kissed her forehead and turned away.

"Are we?" She pressed, following him towards the living room.

Derek deliberately avoided looking at her.

"Are we what?"

"A couple."

"You're my wife." He laughed finally glancing at her. The frustration was obvious on her face and he relented. "I know it's a bizarre situation, but yes. If you weren't already my wife I would say yes, we're dating. And before you ask, yes I do mean exclusively."

Surely she was supposed to look happier about it than the expression she was currently wearing?

"That's…erm…" She started, not sure exactly what to say because she honestly hadn't planned any of this…relationship so to find she was actually _in_ this relationship was a surprise.

"You don't need to look so cheery about it." Derek said sarcastically. Casey sighed.

"Sorry. It's just a bit of a surprise."  
"No, it's okay…honestly. I just thought you were a relationship kinda girl…because if this is a one-night stand I have to point out we've been together since February and we haven't even got to the foreplay yet."

"Der-ek! Don't lower the tone!"

His face was a picture.

"I'm not _lowering the tone_. I'm speaking the truth." He protested. "I just thought it would reassure you that aren't a convenient pair of lips, but…Oh forget it! I'm going to bed." And he stomped off into the bedroom leaving Casey standing by the couch.

.

The light was off when she entered the room and climbed into bed. Derek had his back to her, but as it was only a few minutes since he had left she knew he wasn't asleep. Her mother had always told her never to go to bed on an argument, yet she had found that almost impossible since they moved into the Venturis' home. Since her marriage, however, she had managed to avoid arguing with Derek just before bed as much as possible. If she let him sulk now, she wouldn't sleep.

She appreciated what he had meant by his admission that they were in a relationship. She just didn't know what to do with it, which was sort of a reversal of personalities for them. It was normally Casey who knew exactly how she felt and Derek who denied everything.

In her own mind, she ran through some of the phrases he had used recently when talking about them. _I care about you. You aren't just a pair of convenient lips. We're dating…exclusively. Girlfriend._

She stopped dead.

_Oh my god! I'm dating Derek Venturi!_

Chuckling to herself, Casey shook her head. He wasn't Derek Venturi, he was just Derek. Her husband…and boyfriend, and she had to admit, a fantastic kisser. He was also possibly her best friend - a decent guy who had managed to keep her sane for the past four months, holding her while she slept, worrying about her when she was away from him. What she had admitted fearing to Lizzie that day in the hospital was growing more and more likely by the day - if she wasn't already there.

Trailing her fingers around his body till her arms encircled him, Casey kissed his shoulder blades and the back of his neck.

"If you ask me to go out with you, I'd probably say yes." She murmured close to his ear.

"Probably?" Derek queried.

Casey chuckled against him. "It depends on your powers of persuasion." She said in a tone he had never heard before – from Casey at least. Derek rolled over and caught her hips with his hands. His fingers straying under the fabric of her pyjama top.

"I can do persuasive." He said reaching forward and his breath tickled the skin on her neck.

"Can you now?" She asked, shivering slightly as his fingers met the bare skin of her sides and moved higher.

This was uncharted territory for them. Their previous kisses had been hot but without an agenda. This was different. This was more…purposeful. Casey found her feet tangling with Derek's and his body half covering hers as they grabbed at each other, hands rubbing and stroking. Their kisses were noisy, gasping and _normal_ Casey would have been scared by the intensity. This Casey couldn't give a monkey's uncle about anything except Derek and his hands, and lips and…

.

Later on, Casey would wonder at her new found confidence. She had thought it would be her husband who would unlock this side of her. "Husband" was obviously a pretty serious term, more so than "boyfriend", but "husband" was an act. "Boyfriend" was real. And Derek was both.

.

Derek was the one who calmed them down. He had come close to losing control, but was rather proud of his final restraint. It would have been so easy to make love to Casey, but he wasn't about to rush her into that. He knew her goals in life and he cared enough he wasn't going to take them away from her.

"You're beautiful." He said, kissing her deeply and then gasping for air. "But if we don't stop, we're going to have sex." He said, kissing her deeply again.

"And you think we shouldn't?" Casey asked. "Don't you want me?"

Derek froze in shock. He sat up and switched the light on.

Casey was now sitting up beside him looking very much like they _had_ just had sex. He would have chuckled, but he could see she was struggling to hide some emotion, and tears were welling. He propped himself up against the headboard and pulled her to him, letting her sit within the circle of his legs.

"Casey. Were you a party to that grope-fest just now, or was I having a really weird sex dream?" He kissed her neck from behind, and slid his hands under her pyjama top again, emboldened by how far she had let him go in the heat of the moment.

She didn't stop him, and when he began caressing the softness of her breast again, she let out an involuntary moan.

"I want you, Casey. But you only just agreed to go out with me, and I don't put out on the first date." He said it really seriously, but it sounded ridiculous so she giggled.

He continued. "I'm serious. You don't believe me. What happened to trust in a marriage?"

And then they both laughed and the kissing started again and this time, Casey's hands were under Derek's t-shirt as he continued to trace a pattern on her ribs and breast.

"Not now." He said against her lips. "IF it happens it will only be when we're both ready, because I won't let you do something you'll regret."

In the soft light from the bedside lamp, Casey smiled and let him kiss her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said. "But just for the avoidance of doubt, I'm expecting more kisses like that."

* * *

"Oooh…now that is hot! Derek will love that, but I wouldn't wear it around Mel and Carl if I were you." Penny said, looking at the tiny bikini Casey was holding up a bikini that looked more like French underwear to her still-clothed body. "Maybe you could wear it one night when you go for a moonlit swim."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"The swim suit or the swim?" Penny laughed. "Ah! The swim. No. Not if you're careful. I'm planning on going swimming with Jazz." Penny replied, holding up a yellow tankini for Casey's inspection.

"Only if you want to look like you're jaundiced." Casey said honestly. Her friend shivered and replaced the hanger on the rack. Casey tucked her own black and red bikini over her arm and continued to flick through the racks.

.

Three hours later, they had exhausted their credit cards and were sporting several new bags containing clothes for their vacation. They had also found dresses for the Summer Ball which was being held the following Saturday and the two friends had planned their outfits in great detail.

"How are things going with Jazz?" Casey asked as they stopped at a café for a drink and something "wicked" in the cake line.

Penny blushed. "Erm…good. He's being the perfect gentleman and it's driving me crazy."

Casey smirked into her smoothie. "Tell me about it." She muttered, so low that Penny didn't hear. Penny continued.

"I'm a bit nervous about Florida, I've never…" She stopped. "Is it weird to get to this age and still be a virgin?"

Casey shook her head. "It's more common than you might think."

Penny sighed. "I mean…we've done the usual…erm…intimate stuff, just not that."

Casey's eyes widened. "You _have_?" She coughed to hide her sudden interest. But, the fact that Penny knew there were intimate things that couples normally did together _other_ than sex concerned Casey because whilst she had a vague idea, she didn't know what was "usual".

"Yeah…you know…the sort of stuff that you do to stop them wandering off to someone else before you are ready to have sex."

"Hmm…" Casey pretended. "So how come you left it so long to have sex?" She asked. It was a personal question but they were good friends and some of their previous conversations had been quite honest.

"Dental retainers until last year and Shaun didn't help."  
Shaun was Penny's brother who it appeared was overly protective.

"Was Derek your first?" Penny asked.

As she was married to Derek and couldn't tell Penny the real story, Casey had no alternative but to lie. "Yes."

"How was it? I mean I know it will be painful but…" Penny sipped at her drink rather than finish the sentence. Casey stirred the dregs of the smoothie in her cup, wondering how the hell to answer the question.

"Uncomfortable." She said, pretending she meant the situation she was currently in. Then she remembered something from an agony page.

"You just need to relax. Don't overthink." There you go, nice and non-committal.

"Maybe I should just get drunk." Penny said thoughtfully. "That's what I had to do the first time we had oral sex."

Casey choked on her drink.

Penny laughed at herself. "Do you know I was sixteen before I realised that oral sex meant something other than talking about it?" She fiddled with the napkin on the saucer in front of her. "And then when Jazz started to talk about actually doing that…well I just froze. It took three vodkas before I could even talk about it! Now, it's like second nature to me. I think I even quite like it. I just hope it's the same with full sex."

Normally, Casey was all for girl talk, and to a certain extent she was sure she should find this helpful. However, Penny talking about how she enjoyed doing things which Casey had only _read_ about in the bodice-rippers Emily had lent her at school was disconcerting. As a college girlfriend was this sort of stuff _expected_ of Casey?

Was Derek expecting her to do…that…now?

.

She was still worrying over it in her mind when she got back to their apartment.

Derek greeted her with what had become the usual kiss as she walked into the kitchen where he was fixing himself a sandwich.

"Sometimes, Derek I think I married a human waste disposal."

He smirked as he took a large bite of the sandwich.

"I'm a growing lad." He said when his mouth was clear enough to risk talking.

"You stopped growing four years ago Derek." She said, taking out something from the freezer for their evening meal and leaving the tub on the drainer to defrost.

"What crawled up your ass?" Derek asked, realising she was in _a mood_.

"Nothing." Casey said defensively, making her way to the living room.

Derek stepped in front of her and caught her by the waist.

"Uh Uh. Come on. I've not been with you all day so there's no way that you can be pissed at me for something I did." His arms formed a restraining cage around her and she stopped trying to break free as he kissed her briefly on the lips.

A spark ignited something between them and their lips met again for a deeper kiss. Casey unwittingly leaned into him and he tightened his grip on her.

"I missed you." Derek whispered as they eventually pulled apart.

"I missed you too." She admitted, smiling weakly up at him.

"What did I do?" he asked softly.

"Nothing Derek. It's just me over-thinking things again."

"What sort of things?" he pushed.

She shrugged.

Derek sighed and taking her hand pulled her into the living room and the ever-present couch. They sat down and he pulled her close again.

"Casey, talk to me. It sounds like something you should be talking to someone about it might as well be me."

She shook her head. "I can't Derek. It's too embarrassing."

"Why didn't you talk to Penny if it's girl things?"  
"It isn't girl things and I can't talk to her because of our cover."

"Oh." He scratched his head. "So this is about us?"

She reluctantly nodded her head.

"In which case you should definitely be talking to me."  
"Not about this." Casey said in a strangled voice.

"Why?"

Casey blushed, and the light went on in Derek's head.

"Is this about sex?" he blurted.

Casey bit her lip. "Not exactly."  
"We've talked about it Casey. We're not there yet and we might never be there."  
She sighed. "Not the complete…erm act…just the other _things_."

Derek looked blankly. "Other things?"

"You know."

"No I don't."  
She huffed. "Oral Sex, Derek! Jerking off! Third base."

He stared at her.

"What about it?"

"Do you…erm…" her voice trailed off as he watched her, because she had no idea how to formulate the question.

He brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "Casey, talk to me."

She sighed. "Penny was talking about her and Jazz. She's still a virgin."

Derek's eyes widened. Casey frowned.

"Why did Jazz say otherwise?"

Her husband shook his head. "No. He wouldn't. We don't talk about stuff like that. I just thought…" He shook his head. "Never mind. Evidently you aren't the only person with standards."

Casey smiled at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Not calling me a prude."  
"I've been on the receiving end of your kisses, Casey. You aren't a prude."

She beamed at him and then went on. "Penny was saying that Jazz was being the perfect gentleman and not pushing her, but they had done other stuff."

Derek wrinkled his face. "Do I want to hear this? I mean it's one thing to share locker room gossip but quite another thing to hear about your friend's sex life from your wife."

Casey laughed. "Don't worry, she didn't go into details. But she implied that if you aren't going to go all the way, guys expect…other stuff." She glanced up at him, hesitantly. Derek looked at her intently.

"You want to know if I expect that from you?" He said. She nodded.

He sighed. "Casey, why does everything have to be a big deal with you?" He said in exasperation. She looked surprised.

"Sweetheart. You think too much. What other couples do is their business, and has nothing to do with us. We aren't exactly Mr and Mrs Average."

"You can say that again."

He smiled. "Casey, we will share with each other only what we are both comfortable with and nothing more. This is still early days in our…relationship, who knows if that will be a part of our future? I have to say though, if last night was anything to go by, something's going to give at some point. But if it does, it won't be because of any hidden plan, okay? If it happens it happens." He kissed her. "Why are you so scared about it anyway? Haven't you ever…?"

She shook her head.

"Oh." Derek felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not."

"Good."

"Casey, I'm glad you didn't do that with any of those jerks. I don't feel amusement, just…relief."  
"Relief?" She gaped at him.

"Yeah. You wanna laugh at me?"

She giggled. "Yes."

He took her hand in his own. "Do you remember how you once told me you hated the idea of peanut butter ice cream?"

She nodded.

"And I dared you to eat some…"

"And I liked it so much I ate the whole tub." She finished and then looked at him expectantly.

He smirked and left the conversation hanging.

* * *

**AN: Just an early warning. I don't write smut, but, occasionally, I do write parts of chapters where something does happen. I try to be restrained and respectable about it so hopefully things never go too far. If you are particularly young or likely to be offended, I will try to warn you. However, since you are reading a fiction in the M category, you must have some clue that there will be bad words and actions in a story. **

**Nothing that I write here will be worse than the fiction I have written before. I'm not about to break out into a fit of four-letter euphemisms etc. However, if you have read The Boyfriend or The Girlfriend (in particular) then you will know what I mean.**

**One of the nicest compliments anyone has ever paid me was that they were reassured and learnt something from one of my "sex scenes", which was nice because I was merely telling it how it is.**

**I suspect there maybe some whooping going on in the audience right now…hold your horses, we're not there yet!**

**P.S. In case you didn't see the note on my profile page. Two of my regular reviewers have (over)flattered me by creating a fan page for me on Facebook. Just search for SEZCPL. You might like to go and look because I have been putting updates on there as to how I am progressing on certain chapters. At the moment, it's a bit like talking to myself, but if I get feedback I will keep it up. (As the bishop said to the actress…) X**


	36. Table Fourteen

"This is ridiculous." Jazz said to Derek as he straightened his collar. "I feel like a fucking penguin."

Derek chuckled. "I guess it doesn't help if I tell you that you look like a fucking penguin does it?" He picked up the can of beer from the coffee table. "What time are we due at my apartment to pick up the girls, Pingu?"

Jazz grinned at him. "Pingu? How old are you?"

His friend shrugged. "I have young siblings. My brother is three."

"I thought Edwin was nearer your age."  
"My other brother, Robbie. Ed is sixteen."

"My god! How many of you are there?"

Derek laughed. "In our house, eight of us. Three boys, three girls and two parents."

"Wow! How come?" Jazz thought it was strange they had never discussed this before, but Derek had always been cagey about his family.

"My dad remarried. I have a brother and sister, and then my step-mom had two girls. She and my dad had a boy three years ago."

"How does Casey get on with them?"

Derek was quiet for a moment. He sipped his beer.

"Derek?" Jazz prompted.

"Casey is my step-sister."

Jazz stared at him. "Oh."

"Our parents aren't exactly thrilled we got married." Derek shook himself and stood up. "Are you ready yet?"  
"Yeah. Let's get going. Can't keep the women waiting."

.

They reached the apartment and Derek let them in, shouting to Casey that they were there because he knew the girls would want to make an entrance. Jazz watched his friend move around the apartment, getting potato chips and dip out, tossing another small beer to his friend – but also emptying the kitchen bin and taking the garbage out, wiping down the kitchen surfaces and picking up the empties and putting them out for recycling. Derek caught him watching.

"I know. I've been assimilated. It has its rewards."

Jazz laughed. He'd watched Casey and Derek over the months that he had known them and he loved the way they were together. They never let each other get away with anything, but they supported each other in every thing. Jazz knew that when Derek disappeared off into a trance, it was usually caused by Casey. And he knew that when she thought he wasn't looking, Casey was always watching Derek. Their love was understated, but it was obvious. Jazz and Penny had talked about it and they both agreed: the love that Derek and Casey shared was the sustainable kind. It wasn't idol-worship, it wasn't aggressive, it wasn't dominant and it wasn't submissive. It was based on give and take, it was based on friendship and support, and whilst no one could doubt the passion, it was based on love.

It was something to aspire to.

Derek's confession tonight that Casey was related to him in ways other than by their marriage had shocked Jazz, but it had also explained a lot. They knew each other well. What did surprise Jazz was that Derek said the marriage wasn't welcomed by their parents, because as an outsider looking in, he didn't see how anyone could disapprove.

.

"How did you know?" Jazz asked as they waited.

"How did I know what?" Derek asked, stretching in the armchair.

"That Casey was the one."

Derek chuckled. "It took a while. We fought like cat and dog for years."

"So what changed?"

Casey's husband smiled and for once answered truthfully. "One day I suddenly realised, all my bad days were days where she didn't fight with me, days where we didn't speak. When we first went to college and she wasn't there everyday I missed her. Living a life without her in it wasn't an option." And he was struck by the honesty in his own statement. It shocked him.

"What about you and Penny?" Derek asked. "Going somewhere?"

Jazz smiled. "She's not like anyone I've ever dated before. It takes no effort to be with her, but I enjoy every minute of it. Yeah. I think this will last a while."  
"Forever?"  
"Now you sound like a girl, Venturi. You are so whipped."  
Derek laughed. "Who gives a fuck? I sure as hell don't." And as he sipped his beer he realised it was the truth.

.

The girls emerged from the bedroom a short time later: Penny in a deep red colour, Casey in a rich blue. The theme for the ball was Burlesque and they had managed to find dresses which looked the part in an understated way and they had feathers in their hair. They both looked sexy and stunning, and their respective dates told them so.

Derek made a grab for Casey's waist and she quickly stepped back out of his reach, giggling.

"Don't muss the hair!" She squealed. He pouted.

"Why do they do this? Spend all afternoon primping and preening themselves and then when they're done they won't let us anywhere near them?"

Penny laughed. "It's all about anticipation, D: Teasing everything male in the room all evening."

Casey's husband frowned. "And we're supposed to let you out like that?" he asked.

His wife stepped back to him and said quietly. "We drive all of them crazy but it's you we go home with."

Jazz grinned. "I suppose it's good for our reps. But I warn you, Pen, you shake that behind of yours too much and you won't be lasting the evening."  
She laughed. "Oh god! The caveman surfaces. You were right about this dress, Case."

* * *

The hotel chosen for the venue was quite ornate and in the daylight skyline of New York it looked fussy and faded. For tonight, however, it was perfect because it had a Victorian feel and a slightly seedy air.

"How very Moulin Rouge!" Penny said. "Mom would love this."

Casey grinned and the two girls led the more reluctant men through the door.

Inside it was all faded red velvet and chipped gilt paint. It was buzzing with the students of NYU for once all dressed in something other than jeans and hoodies. Some of the girls had really taken the Burlesque theme to extremes and were in bustiers and stockings, but most were in elegant evening dresses, and quite a few had fascinators or other millinery items in their hair.

"Wow!" said Jazz in a low voice to Derek. "It's 'Debbie does it up the Eiffel' for real!"

Derek laughed and Penny smacked her boyfriend.

"Behave!" She ordered and exchanged an exasperated look with Casey.

They furnished themselves with glasses of cheap fizzy white in champagne flutes and hovered in the massive room set aside for the reception. Penny and Casey looked around to see if there was anyone they knew but it was hard to say for certain because everyone looked so different. Derek and Jazz chatted to each other, grateful that neither was going through this torture on their own. Penny took herself off to check the seating plan and when she returned she announced that they would be sharing a table with two professors and their wives. Derek groaned.

"Great. Now we have to be on our best behaviour."

Jazz laughed. "I doubt it. I know those two and they are the biggest soaks on the planet. If anything they are probably going to cause more trouble than you and I ever could."

Casey smiled at Penny. "Which table is Sophie on?"

"I didn't look. Let's go and see." And with that the two girls walked over to the plan.

It was a large block of cardboard with paper tacked to it, and about fifteen circles drawn in a pattern. Inside each circle was a list of people's names. Penny pointed to Table Five which listed: Derek Venturi, Casey Venturi, Penelope Black, Jason Manning etc. It was near the front and one of the lower numbers because Casey had jumped at the chance to get the tickets. They scanned the rest of the board looking for Sophie's name, and Penny eventually found it on Table Eleven.

Casey was still looking at the names on the tables when she felt a shiver of cold run down her spine.

**Table Fourteen: Rosemary Venturi**.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Derek asked as he pulled out the chair for her to sit on at Table Five. She shook her head.

"She's here." She hissed to him. Derek frowned.

"Rosemary Venturi."

"Rosemary _who_?" he asked, forgetting for a moment the conversation they had had when she returned from Vancouver.

"Rosemary Venturi. Your Dad's _past_." Casey said. Derek stared at her.

"How do you know?"

Casey straightened her dress and laid her napkin gently in her lap. Derek took his place beside her and did the same.

"Her name is on the planner."

He looked thoughtful. "Well she can't be hiding. She wouldn't use her own name if she was hiding from us, or our detail. Which table is she on?"

"Table Fourteen."

"Where's that?"

"Directly behind us about four tables back. It's empty. We can't keep turning round to look, it's rude."

Derek gave her a strange look. "Casey this could be our safety at stake and you're worried about _manners_! Have you seen our detail tonight?"  
"No. I know it's not Angelo or Ronald. It's one of the faceless wonders."

The _faceless wonders_ was their nickname for the FBI agents assigned to watch them twenty four seven who they hadn't actually been introduced to. In a room full of a couple of hundred strangers including guests, waiters and hotel staff, they didn't have a chance in hell of spotting them.

"So she's here." Derek said. "The question is why."

"No the question is, whose side is she on."

"Do you want to go home?" He said, taking her hand and linking their fingers.

Casey shook her head. "I've been waiting for ages for tonight. I'm not letting a Venturi ruin it for me." She finished her statement with a smile, and _her _Venturi leaned forward and kissed her.

"I suppose I should be grateful I'm not the bad guy." He muttered against her lips.

Casey sighed. "My mother would probably say otherwise."

* * *

The other guests seated themselves, but still the seat on Table Fourteen remained empty. It wasn't until the waiters had started to circle the room with baskets of warmed bread rolls that a shuffle near the door revealed the entrance of a stunning brunette, tall with dark brown hair in her late forties but looking so astonishingly beautiful that all the men on the table she was approaching immediately stood, jaws agape. No one noticed the smaller man who entered the room just in front of her and went to sit at Table Thirteen.

Derek, watching the scene over his shoulder, nudged Casey.

"Rosemary just arrived." He said in a hiss. Casey's eyes widened and she waited a few seconds before turning around to look.

"She's gorgeous!" Casey said when she turned back to her husband.

"I noticed." He smirked into his wine glass. Casey rolled her eyes and he chuckled.

"Is she looking at us?" He asked.

"I'll tell you in a minute, I can't keep turning around and staring." Casey complained shifting in her seat which disturbed the hang of her dress slightly. Derek's eyes got momentarily lost in the sight of the soft round of Casey's breast, just visible at the top of her dress and, in an effort to shake off thoughts which would do no good in public he glanced away at the ornate wall beyond Casey.

Then he realised he was looking at the pink metallic reflection of Table Fourteen in a copper panel set into the wall. He grinned.

"I can see her." He whispered and Casey turned to look at the mirror. She smiled back.

"No. She's not looking at us. Not even looking in our direction." Derek announced.

In fact, throughout the whole meal, she never looked at them once. She did, however, seem to be watching the small man on Table Thirteen.


	37. The OK Corral

Penny and Jazz had noticed the Venturis' distraction, but they said nothing. They knew their friends were capable of sorting out their own problems, and besides it seemed that far from fighting, they were being more supportive of each other tonight. Every time Jazz looked up, Derek was touching Casey in some way.

The food was just passable, and the wine merely okay, as is the case with most university formal dinners. At least being high up on the table list their food was hot when it arrived. Casey was not used to drinking large volumes of alcohol so paced herself accordingly. She drank plenty of water, probably a glass for every glass of alcohol.

Consequently, by the time they reached the dessert course, she needed the bathroom badly. She pushed her chair back, pecked Derek on the cheek and made her way to the ladies' room. It was hidden away, through some double doors, along a short corridor, behind some curtains.

Because the food was still being served there was no queue, and as Casey opened the outer door, she realised at this current moment in time it was empty.

.

"Casey's missing a treat with this chocolate mousse." Jazz said, shovelling the sticky sweet into his mouth." Penny rolled her eyes and told him to slow down.

"Yeah. She's taking her time. Maybe I should go see if she's okay." Derek suggested.

Penny stood up. "No. Don't worry. I need the bathroom anyway, I'll go."

"Thanks Penny." Derek said and went back to his chocolate pudding.

It was five minutes later when Penny arrived back at the table, but she didn't sit down.

"Derek." She said quietly. "I can't find Casey."

* * *

"Is this some kind of joke?" The bored-looking washroom attendant asked. Derek frowned.

"No. I just want to know if you've seen my wife." Derek had rummaged in his wallet and found his wedding photo to show the man. Penny would have found it kind of touching if it wasn't for the fact Casey was apparently missing.

"You and half the guests." The attendant said.

Derek stepped towards him threateningly. "Meaning?"  
"Meaning, you're the fourth person who's asked me about her in the last twenty minutes."  
Derek felt a sudden sense of dread.

"Was one of them a tall slim brunette?" he asked. The attendant perked up.

"Yeah. Slim with an amazing rack."

"Fuck!" Derek swore. Penny frowned.

"What's wrong?"  
"Casey's in trouble."

The attendant was paying more attention now.

"Of course the brunette wasn't the first person to ask about her. That was the small guy. And then came the brunette, then the cops and then you."  
Penny looked up suddenly. "Cops?"

The attendant shrugged. "Like they try to hide it but you can always tell, and these guys were clumsy. You could see their pieces through their jackets."

Casey's friend looked stunned. "Why would the cops be looking for Casey?" She asked Derek in astonishment. He didn't look so surprised.

"Not cops." He murmured. "FBI." He turned his attention back to the attendant. "Which way did they go?" He asked, ignoring Penny's spluttered questions and pointed looks. Behind her, Jazz appeared, clearly fed up with waiting for the rest of his companions. He arrived just in time to hear Derek say 'FBI'. His eyes met Derek's and he put a hand on Penny to stop her questions, shaking his head.

"Well the small guy just disappeared when my back was turned, and the FBI guys went over there." He pointed to a set of stairs. "But the brunette…she went down there, towards the goods entrance in the opposite direction to the route the FBI had taken.

Derek motioned to his friends and they stepped away.

"What's going on Derek?" Jazz asked.

"I think Casey's been taken, but I'm not sure by who and I'm not sure where they've gone."

"Why would someone take Casey?" Penny asked. "And why are the FBI involved?"  
Derek looked at his friends and made a decision.

"Casey and I are in witness protection." He admitted. "The FBI are our protection detail. I'm not sure about the other two but at least one of them is dangerous and at least one of them has Casey."

Jazz cut through all the frightened questions which were threatening to issue from Penny.

"What can we do?" he asked. Derek thought quickly. He didn't want his friends getting hurt, but someone needed to follow each of the groups. The safest thing was for them to follow the FBI guys and if Casey wasn't with them, to tell them to turn around.

"You go that way." Derek ordered. "Look for the FBI idiots and tell them they've ballsed up. Tell them to _phone Mac_. Then show them which way the brunette went. I have a feeling she will have followed the other guy. I'll tell you more when we find Casey."

"Okay." Jazz said and without further comment, he grabbed Penny's hand and led her away in the direction the attendant had indicated. As she was running with Jazz, Derek could hear Penny asking if Jazz thought Casey was okay.

He didn't stop. He made for the loading bay and Rosemary.

* * *

It wasn't a simple route to the loading bay. It weaved through store rooms and side kitchens. However, he reasoned that someone who was trying to escape would not bother going into the side rooms, so he didn't search them. Instead, he followed the signs and prayed that the people he was following had not been so determined, and had got lost along the way.

By the time he arrived at the rear entrance to the Victorian hotel, enough time had elapsed that his quarry could have gotten clean away if his hope of their hesitation had been false.

Derek burst out into the outside air with a bang of a large metallic door. It was dark outside now, the sounds of a New York night assaulting his senses: sirens wailing, horns honking, and the squeal of tyres. He glanced around him and saw he was in a wide side alley, next to a metal rolled entrance where it was clear deliveries to the hotel were made. Along the side walls were large dumpsters and a small trail of debris that a hotel inspector would have a field day with. The noise of the night suddenly dropped and Derek heard the scuttling of something small and rodent-like off to his left.

He had read enough action books in his childhood to understand the rush of adrenaline which enabled him to determine what it was scratching through the garbage, above the sounds of New York City. He was Derek Venturi, NYU student and potential photograph-cum-film director, but right now, dressed in his tux and sweating like a hippo on the savannah, he felt more like Bond, James fucking Bond.

As his hearing adjusted to the sounds that were more immediately relevant to him, i.e. those closest, he realised that he was not alone in the alley. There was a group of people up ahead, but he couldn't see them because a particularly large dumpster was in the way.

He straightened himself from the dramatic, mid-flight pose he had arrived at, and crept towards the dumpster as quickly as he could so that he could see what was going on. As he did so, his heart came into his mouth as he realised, Casey was indeed one of the three people in front of him, and she was being held by the small guy.

She looked vulnerable, but as he gazed at her face, he realised she wasn't broken. There was a defiance in her that hadn't been repressed yet. Casey McDonald was an innocent, but she was nobody's fool. As he thought the phrase he realised he had unintentionally named her by her maiden name, and he corrected himself because never had he been more proud or more in love with his wife than he was now.

She was Casey Venturi.

The other two people in the alley were also positioned in defiant stances and their body language spoke volumes as to what was going on.

"Stefan. This is ridiculous. You know Papa isn't going to let you get away with it. She's a Venturi."

"In name, only." Stefan said. "No one who knows this two truly believes they are together. It's a farce, a marriage made purely to protect her, and it won't do _shit_ when I've finished with her."

Derek edged forward as the two elders conversed. Casey was struggling against Stefan but then he moved suddenly and Derek gasped when he realised one of the hands holding her to him was holding a gun. Stefan's intentions evidently didn't include shoving Casey down a flight of stairs.

"Don't be stupid, Stefan. Whatever the motive behind their marriage, Derek has made his intentions clear. She's under his protection. And what a Venturi wants a Venturi gets."

Stefan snorted. "Yeah…well, that didn't work so well for you, did it?"  
Rosemary was silent for a moment. Then when she spoke her voice was quiet.

"That was a long time ago. We're different people now." She sounded submissive but from his vantage point, Derek could see her manoeuvring something from the bag hanging from her side.

He could guess what it was, and he wanted to shout "stop" because he didn't want Casey caught between two guns.

"Stefan. She's under the protection of the family. You and I both know that."

"I'm not being hung out to dry." Stefan protested.

"No. You aren't. This fuck up is of your own making." Rosemary stated bluntly. "And that's always been your problem. You never could understand when it was your fault. You were always quick to blame others. And let's face it, this all began long before Dennis McDonald. What right do you have to threaten his daughters?"

"He sold me out to the FBI." Stefan said, jerking Casey round, his eyes flickering wildly.

Rosemary sighed. "You screwed up and the FBI got on to you. Seriously, this is nothing to do with McDonald."

"You're fucking biased. You and your incestuous need for George fucking lame duck Venturi. Jesus! Fucking in-breeds!"

"You don't have a clue what you are talking about, Stefan. You know nothing about George Venturi. You're a limp dick with one brain cell who couldn't organise an orgy in a whorehouse. The family is sick of you, your mother is sick of you and quite frankly, I'm sick of you."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Derek felt something hit him, a sharp stab of pain, and then nothing but black.


	38. Inhibitions

Casey walked into her bedroom, shedding clothes. Uncharacteristically, she let them lie where they fell as she approached Derek's chest of drawers naked, where she yanked open a drawer took out one of his Queens t-shirts. She stretched the neck so that it wouldn't catch her forehead where the melolin tape held the gauze in place and slipped the garment over her head.

"Okay. I'll pay you good money if you do that again with the camera rolling." Derek said from the bed. She giggled.

"You can't afford me, honey." She retorted as she climbed into bed. He chuckled.

"I'll work every hour of every day for the rest of my life." He promised and she leaned towards him.

"You still couldn't afford me."  
He pouted and she laughed.

"Fortunately, I'm on special offer." She said with a twinkle in her eye and he kissed her on the lips.

"You'd be in serious trouble if I was in better shape."

"I know. Tragic, isn't it?" She teased.

Derek licked his lips. "Just because I'm under doctor's orders…"

She smiled. "Hmmm… you are, aren't you?"

"You'll be the death of me Casey Venturi."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Was that ever in doubt?"

They kissed for a moment, and he raised his left hand up to brush the hair from her face.

"I seriously thought…" He started. Casey closed her eyes.

"Don't." She said. "Let's not talk about it. Okay? We both owe Rosemary our lives. If she hadn't been there, I dread to think…"

Derek pulled her close with his left arm. "Don't, princess. You're right. We should worry about this in the morning. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?"  
She smiled.

"Do you need more painkillers?" Casey asked, motioning to his arm. Derek nodded.

"Yeah. Me too." Casey said, pointing to her head. She slid out of his arms and off the bed and he caught a glimpse of naked buttock as she left the room.

Somewhere in that darkened alley, Casey had abandoned her inhibitions.

* * *

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

_The three gun shots echoing round the alley had come without warning and Casey was only aware of being shoved to one side and falling hard to the ground. Both actions hurt, but it was the cry of pain and then silence which hurt the most because she recognised the voice as Derek's even though until that point she hadn't know he was there._

_Things became confused with lots of running and shouting, and self-preservation should have kept her lying low. But all she could think of was Derek, and she found herself crawling to the area of the alley where she thought the voice had come from. It was dark and unfamiliar but eventually she found a lump of human, soft and warm and smelling of Derek. She reached out to touch him on the arm and then withdrew her hand in horror as something warm and wet met her fingers. He was bleeding._

_She tried to clear her focus so that she could check him._

"_Fuck that hurts!" He moaned and she sobbed with relief, reaching over him to kiss him._

"_Are you okay?" he mumbled, favouring his injured arm but trying to hug her with his good arm._

"_I'm not the one bleeding." She said. Derek chuckled humourlessly. "You wanna bet?" He asked motioning to her head and Casey put a hand up and felt the same feeling of warm wet that she had on Derek._

"_Oh!" She said._

"_Here." He said, reaching into the pocket of his jacket where she had stored tissues earlier in the evening. She dabbed at her head, but it did little to stop what was now quite a flow of blood._

"_Are you two okay?" A female voice said from above and they both looked up to see Rosemary looking down on them._

"_There's an ambulance on its way." She said. "The stupid fucks which call themselves your protection detail have gone after Stefan. They're too useless to catch him but it gets them out of the way. I'm sorry." She apologised. "I should have been quicker on the trigger, but Casey was in the way."_

_Derek winced and frowned._

"_We don't need apologies. But explanations go a long way."_

_Rosemary squatted down._

"_Not now. Later, probably tomorrow. I'll come to your apartment."_

"_How do you know…" Casey said._

"_I know where it is." Rosemary said without explanation. "I've got to go. Mac's coming. Stay where you are. Moving will make the bleeding worse."_

_And then she was gone._

_Mac arrived seconds later._

"_Where's Rose?" he asked._

"_She left." Casey said, feeling herself begin to shake._

"_Damn! I wanted to thank her. She's got more balls than both of my guys put together. She saved your lives."_

"_I know." Derek said. "It was one hell of a shot. Did she get him?"_

"_In the shoulder we think. There's a trail of blood."_

"_But he's gone?" Casey asked._

"_Yes. For now."_

_The braying of an emergency vehicle grew closer and then stopped and they heard the sound of a truck reversing._

"_Let's get you two to hospital and then we can talk about it."_

_The EMTs jumped from the ambulance bringing medical kit and questions._

"_Okay. We got a head injury and a bullet wound to the arm. I think it's only a glancing shot though. Let's get some details, patch you both up a bit and get you to hospital." _

_And then one guy washed and gauzed the wounds, while the other played twenty questions._

"_Names?"_

"_Casey and Derek Venturi." Casey answered._

"_Date of births?"_

_Casey answered automatically._

"_Relationship?"_

"_We're married."_

_The EMT guys exchanged a glance._

"_Bit young aren't you?"_

_Hovering, Mac gave them a look. "Bit nosey aren't you?" The EMT guy shut up and soon they were being loaded into the ambulance._

"_Neither of you is too bad so we'll take you together, save calling for another crew." The senior guy said. Casey nodded, relieved and climbed into the ambulance with Derek._

"_What happened to Jazz and Penny?" Derek asked quickly. Mac poked his head in the back of the truck._

"_We got them. They're fine. A bit confused, but no doubt you'll fill them in later. I think he's taking her home."_

_Derek nodded. "Tell them thanks."_

_Mac grinned. "Will do."_

_And then the door shut and the siren blared again._

_Casey sat next to Derek whilst the EMT checked their blood pressure and other vitals. She held his good hand across his body and stroked a thumb across blood-stained fingers._

"_Casey?" Derek said, closing his eyes._

"_Hmm?"_

"_I love you."_

* * *

In the quiet of their apartment, she was back in bed, both of them having taken the pain relief prescribed to them by the hospital.

"Did you mean it?" Casey asked from the comforting circle of Derek's arms.

"Did I mean what?" He asked, softly, breathing in the unique Casey scent which there had been a time tonight that he had believed he might never smell again.

"What you said in the ambulance." She clarified.

He chuckled. "Nah! I was dosed up on morphine." He stated in a cheery voice. Casey's face fell.

Derek tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it up.

"I love you, Casey Venturi. Of course I meant it." He said smiling, just before he kissed her.

Her eyes flashed with excitement and she grinned back at him.

"I love you too, idiot." She said before kissing him deeply. The kissing went on for a while, although it was hampered by Derek's sling.

"You are in so much danger when I get this arm back." Derek promised. Casey smiled. "Do you have any idea how hot it is to see your wife wearing nothing but your own T-shirt?"

"That's sort of the point, Derek." Casey said. He slid his functioning hand under the t-shirt and cupped her backside.

"I'll be out of the sling before we go to Florida." He said pointedly.

"I'm counting on it." She grinned.

"What happened to the nerves?" He asked, his fingers stroking a pattern on her bare skin.

"Being held up at gun point and seeing your husband shot in front of you sort of makes you realise that being nervous about sex is kind of stupid." Casey said, leaning closer so that he could see down the front of her t-shirt. He moved his hand around her hip to the inside of her thigh.

"I thought I'd lost you." She said quietly. "I don't want to go through that again."

Derek moved his fingers higher into the promised land.

"Neither do I, my love." He said and their mouths met again.

Casey pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"I know you're out of action for some things." She said softly. "But I think I'm ready for some peanut butter ice cream."

* * *

Medication has its drawbacks, and for Casey and Derek it was that approximately twenty minutes after the ice cream discussion, they both passed out; but not before Casey learnt how rewarding trying new things could be…for both parties.

She fell asleep in Derek's arms as usual, but this time, they were both naked and she did so in the certain knowledge that her days as a virgin were numbered. Derek fell asleep with his own leg between his wife's and his good hand cupping her exposed breast.

It was nearly four am when they went to sleep and eleven thirty am when they woke up.

"I love you." Derek said as soon as Casey's eyes opened. She smiled.

"Okay. You win 'husband of the year' for that comment alone, never mind last night." She kissed him. "I love you." Then she sat up, holding her knees to her body with her arms. Derek sat up behind her and kissed her back.

"I assume they haven't found him." Casey said before moaning softly as the kisses reached a particularly sensitive place on her neck.

"No. But, even if the FBI don't get him, Rosemary will."

Casey frowned. "So evidently she's on our side." He nodded.

"I can't wait for her explanation."

His wife looked worried. "It's just, we owe her so much…I don't want her to get hurt or in trouble."  
"I doubt very much that the mob is going to let her get hurt or arrested." Derek said soothingly.

"No. I know. It would be nice just to have a resolution to this whole business. To just be able to get on with things without the restrictions."  
Derek stopped. "You're desperate to get back?" He asked, soberly.

Casey nodded. "I've missed everyone so much."  
He let go of her and moved back up the bed. Casey looked concerned and followed him.

"What's up?" She asked. Derek leaned his head back on the wall and looked at the ceiling.

"What will going back mean?" He stated. Casey blew out a breath.

"Going back will mean seeing our family again."

"And going back to a set of divorce papers and an interrogation from the 'rents." Derek said.

"Obviously, I don't want _that_, but I do want to see our family." Casey confessed.

"And what about us?" Derek didn't like the hesitation in her voice, but he understood why it was there.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I really don't know."


	39. Rosemary

"So where do you want me to start?" Rosemary asked, sipping the herbal tea which Casey had placed in front of her.

"The beginning would be nice." Derek said from his position on the armchair, his damaged arm resting in its sling.

Rosemary sighed. "Hmmm…the beginning." She murmured, her beautiful face pulled into a slight frown.

Casey, perched on the arm of Derek's chair sat forward.

"Why are you a Venturi?"  
Rosemary smiled. "My father was your grandfather's brother." She said to Derek.

"Your father and I are first cousins." And when Derek looked at her properly, he could see the resemblance – not just to George but to Aunt Madge who would be Rosemary's aunt too.

"Did you grow up together?" Casey asked, intrigued. When she nodded, Derek was surprised. He didn't think he had ever heard of Rosemary Venturi before this fiasco.

"Yes. Our families were very close. George was my best friend." She sighed. "The problem was that our Italian heritage meant different things to each part of the family. My father thought it was important, and needed to be preserved. Your grandfather believed that it was destructive and needed to be forgotten. For a while it was a joke between the two sides of the family. But when my father got embroiled in something on the edge of the mob, the two brothers clashed." Rosemary looked sad. "They had a once in a lifetime falling out. Your grandfather severed all ties with his heritage and my father joined the cosa nostra. You father and I lost contact."

Casey caught something in Rosemary's voice: a tinge of sadness and regret and also…love.

"How old were you?"  
"Sixteen. George and I were…friends. We'd begun to be more, but…we had so much going against us. Firstly there was George's dad's opposition to the mob. Then there was the fact we were first cousins." She took a deep breath. "Your father and I cared about each other a lot. But he couldn't go against the wishes of his parents." She looked sad. "I understood, my parents were being the same about it all, but that didn't make it any easier."

Derek stared at her. "My dad and you were…"

"We were _friends_. He kissed me once and given a different situation maybe we would have been more. But we weren't given that situation. We were young and easily influenced."  
Casey and Derek exchanged a look. It was a little too close to home for comfort.

"Anyway," Rosemary continued. "When we were sixteen, the contact was severed altogether. One day George was in my class and spending afternoons at our house, the next all mention of him was forbidden in our home. It was a difficult time."

"When did you next see him?" Casey was doing better at the interrogation than Derek. He was still struggling with the idea of his father falling for his own cousin.  
Rosemary smiled. "About three weeks ago, in a restaurant in Toronto. He looks good. Your mom's a lucky woman." She smiled at Casey and then turned back to Derek. "Don't worry. We've both outgrown that infatuation. It's settled into just affection now. I might not have seen him but I've kept an eye on what he was doing. The mob has much going against it, but I've always been proud of our family values."

Derek processed what she had told them.

"So what about Stefan?" The FBI had made it clear they were still under protection, possibly even more so since they now knew what he was capable of. Two new agents had been assigned to their case and the "incompetent" pair had been suspended pending a hearing. Mac had confided in Derek that he suspected Angelo was going to volunteer for that interrogation himself.  
Rosemary relaxed, and Casey realised Stefan was a more comfortable topic for her because it was less personal than her relationship with Derek's Dad.

"Stefan is a moron. Apparently he always was a moron even as a child although George and I never knew him. From what I heard the rest of the Family hoped age would give him sense but it never happened. Casey, I'm sure your dad has told you about his business dealings. The trouble with Stefan is he is incompetent but he doesn't see that and when things go wrong, he blames everyone but himself. He's blamed every lawyer he has ever had. He blamed your father and when your father was persuaded to talk to the FBI, he felt justified in attacking him. Stefan went to Papa Andretti, the godfather of our family and asked for assistance. Papa is not a stupid man. He knew that Stefan's problems were of his own making. He refused to retaliate against your father who he saw as a hard-working man who had caused the mob no problems. Of course he's not happy about the FBI being involved but he blames Stefan rather than Dennis. And all of us deal with the authorities in some way or another."

Casey glanced at Derek and took his hand.

"Stefan got away." She stated, but they all knew it was a question.

Rosemary nodded. "For now. He's hurt though – with a gunshot wound. That will require medical attention and he won't be able to go to a hospital, because GSWs are reportable. He'll be forced to go to the back streets and as soon as he does, I'll know about it."

"What will you do?" Casey had to know, even if the answer was just…appalling.

Derek's cousin sighed. "Casey. There are rules even within the mob and one of those rules is you don't attack people under Papa's protection – that's just lethal. When your grandfather severed ties with the family, Papa was just a junior officer, but he was present when my own father requested life-long protection for the Venturis. It was me that asked him to ask Papa for that and he gave it willingly. My father had no desire to see his own brother and nephews hurt; besides Madge would never have allowed it. She always was the mediator between the two brothers. So Papa Andretti granted the protection and I've made sure it stayed in place. I was away speaking to Papa Andretti when Elizabeth was attacked. I was pleading for the Venturi protection to be extended to the McDonalds, or at least you and your sister. Before Papa could give his judgement, Stefan had attacked Lizzie and you were going into protection. That's when I went to see Bob Childs who I knew was a friend of George's. I told him about the ambiguity which surrounded Casey. It wasn't obvious to me what the relationship between you two was. If you were a couple then she was by extension protected for the duration of your relationship." She grinned. "Marrying Casey was a stroke of genius Derek."

Derek chuckled. "I'm rather proud of that one, myself." He smirked.

"You asked, Derek. It was me that accepted." Casey objected.

He laughed. "Seriously, sweetheart? We're going to argue about who thought it was a good idea to get married?"

Casey grinned at him. "Why not? We argue about everything else."

"Not _everything else_." Derek reminded her with a look.

Rosemary laughed. "I take it the marriage has been successful in more ways than one."

Derek nodded. "It's not perfect, but we're getting there."

Casey pulled a face. "The trouble is the family is never going to accept it. I mean, as far as they are concerned, we're brother and sister."

Rosemary raised an eyebrow. "You could try reminding your father that not all familial relationships are incestuous. After all, even first cousins can get married."

.

Derek liked his new relative. He might not share her acceptance of the practices of the Mob, but as she talked about growing up with his father, he realised she had known him very well. He wondered how his dad had managed to avoid all mention of her presence in his life for so long. Then he had looked at Casey and realised that if he had to sever ties with her now he would never be able to talk about the time they had together because it would hurt too much. He also remembered that Madge had told him George had been reasonably well-behaved as a kid, but that his rebelliousness began around the age of sixteen. Derek wondered if he had just met the cause.

.

Rosemary took her leave of the couple at around four pm, promising to stay in touch and to let them know if Stefan re-surfaced. None of them wanted to dwell on that thought.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Derek asked Casey later that evening. She was pulling things out from the chest of drawers and creating piles on the bed.

"Packing."

He frowned and she smiled reassuringly. "For the vacation, silly."

"My stuff there too?" He pointed to a pile of his t-shirts.

"I didn't think you were in a position to do your own packing." Casey noted, holding up a t-shirt and inspecting it. "I think I need to go shopping. You need new clothes." She looked up at him. "Don't worry I know the sorts of things you go for. You just need to let me know sizings. I'll go with Penny tomorrow."

Derek sat down on the bed and motioned for Casey to join him.

"We should make time to talk seriously, Casey. We need to work out what we both really want before…" he stopped. "Before we go down a path that we can't turn around from."

"Meaning?"

"Last night changed a few things and I've been thinking this morning…thinking seriously and…" he hesitated. "Fooling around is one thing Casey, but, I will only make love to my _wife_. If we're both in it for the long haul and not just for convenience, I'll make this the best honeymoon anyone ever had. But you need to decide – and so do I." She started to say something but he held up his good hand. "Not now. We need to think about it, seriously. Imagine we aren't married, and I've just proposed. Go away and spend the next couple of days thinking about it. Think about what it will entail. It will probably make our parents unhappy, and our school friends will laugh their freaking asses off. We've had some of the pitfalls already: the funny looks, the barb comments, the jealousy and attempts at breaking us up. Plus, you need to think about your career. I wouldn't expect you to give up anything for me, but putting commitment into a career would put pressure on us…and," He stopped and ran his hand through his hair. "_Jesus!_ I sound like my mother!"

Casey smiled. "I thought I knew you when we were at school, but you're so much deeper than I ever dreamed of."

"That's because you believed the lie, Casey. School was all about reputation – an act. Dad did the same thing remember? Played up at school and sobered up at college." They both thought about some of the anecdotes they had heard and chorused,

"Largely!" Then giggled.

"Anyway. Casey I care about you a lot and I know you care about me too. We've told each other we love each other and I'm sure it's true. The events of last night made me realise you are so important to me. But, between now and Florida, I think we need to decide. Are we _really _married or is this just a bizarre act of friendship? _Is_ this forever?"

"And if it isn't?" Casey asked soberly. Derek sighed.

"Then as soon as it is safe to do so we have to walk away."

Casey looked down at her fingers in her lap and saw the moment when he reached across and took her hand.

"We need to think about it. Because I won't take your dream wedding night away from you. If I'm not going to be your husband, I won't be your lover."


	40. Vacation With Derek

Casey felt drained as she emerged from the plane and started down the steps. The flight had been long and tiring because they had woken up extra early to be at the airport in time, and the heat and humidity when they emerged into the Floridian sun was slightly overwhelming.

"Wow!" Penny said, following her out of the door. "The sooner I'm in a two piece and dipping in the sea the better!"

Casey grinned at her friend. "I know exactly what you mean." She said, as the queue down the steps started to move again and they made their way into the terminal building.

In Arrivals, there was a suited guy with a placard saying 'Jason Manning III' on it, which sparked amusement among Derek, Mel and Carl. The six friends followed the young intern from Jazz's dad's office out to the parking lot.

By mutual consent, they only lasted until the first rest stop before all six of them decided to change into cooler clothes. Getting out of the large people carrier was a bit of a trial as despite being marketed as a seven-seater it didn't take into account the fact that the six people it was actually carrying would each need luggage. Casey considered herself lucky though as she and Derek had been given the middle seats. It was the two single guys who were given the kamikaze seats in the trunk – and they were sharing that small space with most of the bags. The rest were tucked under Casey and Derek's feet, and to Derek's consternation _between_ him and his wife. His arm was better now. It had scabbed over and he had been warned there would be a scar, but he had full movement back. He just couldn't wrap it around Casey the way he wanted because her bright pink suitcase was wedged between them.

"It's not for long." She said, correctly interpreting his glare and smiling with amusement.

No decisions had yet been made about their future, but for the time-being he was happily playing the part of loving husband. Of course to the two Casanovas in the trunk, that's exactly what Derek was. They hadn't been enlightened about the true relationship between Derek and Casey. Even Jazz and Penny only had a small part of the story. There hadn't been time to discuss it properly before Florida. Promises had been made to share the full story whilst they were away – just as soon as they could get rid of Dumb and Dumber in the trunk.

.

As Casey had predicted, the journey to the beach house wasn't long and the people carrier had a decent GPS system, so they reached it without any trouble. Jazz had insisted on driving – which as that automatically made him the designated driver all week, was a popular decision. He turned off the public road onto a small private track towards a complex of modern but stunning homes almost directly on the beach.

"Wow! I thought we were supposed to be staying in a beach _house_!" Penny said. "These are mansions!"

Jazz grinned. "Not exactly. But they are for the CEO and the Board, so it makes sense that they are high-end."

He pulled up outside of a two-storey cream building at the end of the line. It was set apart from the others and nestled in some small dunes which appeared to signal the end of the accessible section of the beach. In fact, it appeared to have its own private beach.

Casey smiled. "This is fantastic Jazz! Thanks for inviting us." She said politely but with enthusiasm. Penny beamed at her boyfriend.

"Casey's right. It's great!" she squealed kissing him loudly on the cheek. Jazz laughed and took the affection in good part, suggesting that they unload and get settled in, before a small party of them headed into town for supplies.

.

The house was well maintained, and obviously benefited from some sort of ground staff because the sand had been newly brushed from the decking. They each grabbed their bags and headed up the small path to the door, which Jazz opened with keys given to him by the intern at the airport. Inside the house was cool and refreshing, and Jazz turned to face them.

"Okay guys, house rules. I say who gets what rooms. If you don't like your room, sleep on the couch. You make a mess, you tidy it. Same for…erm…guests." He said, looking pointedly at Mel and Carl. "You can have guests, but the sex stays in the bedroom and if there are going to be new ones every night, I don't want to meet them. I.e. they are gone by morning. Clear? Cool. End of broadcast." He pivoted dramatically on the balls of his feet and stuck his arm in the air. "Follow me!"

"On your left, you have the downstairs bathroom and shower, next to the third bedroom. You guys…welcome to your room." Jazz motioned to Mel and Carl. They whooped at the large, white room with its _two_ queen-sized beds and disappeared inside to unpack. The rest followed Jazz.

"The rest of the downstairs is the kitchen and living area, leading out onto the deck." He waved a hand in the appropriate direction. It was all white marble tiles and whitewashed walls. As well as a large, well-appointed stainless steel kitchen there were three enormous couches facing full-length picture windows leading out onto the deck. A fantastic view of the dunes and the glistening sea stretched in front of them.

The two couples stood watching the view.

"Shit Jazz!" Derek said, awestruck. "I think I want your dad's job."

Jazz laughed. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

They climbed a floating glass staircase which swept round in an arc to the upper floor.

"Unbelievable!" Penny said following her boyfriend who held out his hand to her as she climbed behind him.

"Definitely not our apartment." Derek murmured to Casey.

"I like our apartment." She replied offended. He rolled his eyes at her and they arrived on the landing.

"The guy who chose this house for the company often vacations with his mother-in-law who has expensive tastes so both the upstairs rooms are more hotel-like than vacation home."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Casey reassured Jazz. He laughed.

"Oh they'll be fine all right. Just you wait." He threw open the door to a bedroom.

"This is your room." He said quietly.

Casey stepped into the bright room and gasped. It was white the same as downstairs, but up here everything was much softer. The enormous bed was covered in crisp white sheets with a soft oyster-coloured comforter. The wrought iron frame included support for a canopy with flowing white drapes. Either side of the bed were dark wooden cabinets to match the wardrobes lining the walls. White, wood shutters partially covered the windows, but there was enough light to appreciate the elegance of the space before them.

Casey walked to a door on the opposite wall and opened it to reveal a large en-suite bathroom.

Jazz leaned towards Derek. "You're gonna like this…there's a Jacuzzi."

.

Penny was eager to see the room she would be sharing with Jazz so the couple left Derek and Casey to explore.

"Nice." Derek said in an understated way.

"Wow." Casey agreed. "How on earth can they allow a group of students to stay here?" Derek chuckled.

"They've never met us. They probably think we're all preppy or something."  
Casey snorted. "They're the worst of the bunch."

Derek dumped their bags on the floor and walked towards her taking her by the waist.

"You look tired."  
"It's the travelling." She admitted. "You don't look so great yourself." She placed a hand on his face.

"When are we going to talk?" He asked.

A cloud passed over Casey's face. "Do we need to do this now?" She asked exasperated.

"At any moment we could be sent home Casey. We can't do that without the decision."  
"I know Derek but pushing won't help."

He sighed. "The trouble is you and I are up and down like a big dipper. I don't know whether I'm supposed to be hiding how I feel about you or mauling you."

She smiled up at him.

"I'll settle for a minor localised mauling now. You can always retract it at a later date."

Derek obliged and Casey reciprocated. After a few minutes, breathless, they pulled apart.

"Until we decide otherwise, am I still allowed to say I love you?" Casey asked.

Her husband kissed her again. "I love you too."

* * *

Wal-marts are the same the world over. (Except in England where they are smaller, green and called "Asda".) But to Derek, one oversized grocery store was just like any other.

"We have to do this Derek, because you'll want chips and beer later and if we don't buy any there won't be any."

"Hey! Can you quit being the voice of reason, please? I'm male, which gives me the god-given right to complain about shopping."

Penny chuckled. Jazz sighed.

"Save it you two. You can fight and make up later. I'm hungry, let's shop."

And in typical male fashion, Derek and Jazz took one cart to fill it with alcohol and snacks, while Penny and Casey took another one and filled it with items containing nutrition.

"When are we going to get to hear the whole story?" Penny asked Casey as they walked the aisles.

Casey sighed. "Tomorrow maybe? I'm too tired tonight."

"Is everything okay between you two? You seem a bit tense."

Her friend pulled a face. "No. That's just us."

Penny grinned. "I like Derek. He's a nice guy. And he thinks the world of you. I can see why you married him."

Casey turned as if to look at something on the shelf and swallowed hard trying to hide her reaction to Penny's comment. She wanted to cry but instead she pulled herself together.

"You're cheating!" She said, forcing a smile onto her face. "Asking me questions now. I said tomorrow."

Penny grinned. "Damn! Busted!" She slipped her arm through Casey's. "Seriously, though Casey. You've got a good one there."

Casey smiled back. "I know."

"Casey?" A voice said from behind her as the two girls broke apart and turned. "Casey McDonald?"

.

Derek and Jazz had loaded their cart and were on their way back to find Casey and Penny.

"So…What's the story morning glory?" Jazz said, glancing at Derek.

"Oasis? Give me a break."

"How about 'keep the demons down and drag the skeletons out'?" Jazz quipped.

"Guns 'n' Roses? Yeah. Better. But I'm not in the mood okay?"  
"I didn't ask you for sex, asswad, I asked you to tell me why you got shot and since it's evidently linked, why the hell you got married at twenty one."

Derek shrugged. "What can I say? That's just life with Casey. She kind of does that to a guy."

"Der-ek!"

"Ha! That was good. You sounded just like her."

Jazz shook his head in despair. Derek relented.

"Jazz. I can't talk here. We're in the middle of freaking Wal-mart for godssake."

"You've gone all Burn Notice on me, Dude."  
Derek stepped close to his friend. "Please? We're in Witness Protection." He whispered.

Jazz backed off. "Shit! Casey went postal on her last ex…?"

Derek laughed.

"I'll tell you, just not here, Jazz."

Jazz nodded and they carried on walking.

"You have to admit though. The Casey going postal on an ex idea has merit…" Jazz said in a serious voice.

They were laughing and joking as they turned into the frozen food aisle…and then Derek froze.

Standing halfway down the aisle, tight in the embrace of some guy was Casey. He had his hand on her backside and she was giggling.

* * *

**AN: Difficult couple of chapters ahead…they may take a while.**


	41. Fate

"Dude. That guy's feeling up your wife."

Derek was staring at the sight in front of him. "I can see that."

"Does she _know_ the guy?"

"She thinks she does." Derek muttered under his breath. Jazz looked confused.

"His name is Giles. Casey had a _major_ crush on him in our freshman year at college. He led her on for a bit until she wouldn't put out and then disappeared…something about a sick grandmother. The guy's a prize dick. Trouble is, Casey never really put out the flame for the jerk."  
"Oh."

Derek walked down the aisle towards Casey.

"Derek? Wow! What are you doing here?" The new arrival asked with barely disguised hatred.  
"Giles." Derek said without blinking. "I'm on vacation with my wife. Do you think you could remove your hands from her ass please before I brain you with a frozen turkey?"

"Your what?" Giles said, letting go of Casey who was glaring at Derek.

"Derek. Don't be rude."

He flashed her a 'what the fuck?' look.

"Giles was just saying hello." She protested.

"Yeah. I saw." Derek said turning his attention back to the man in front of him. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me, visiting your _grandmother_?" He said pointedly. Giles looked embarrassed. Casey looked confused, then angry.

"Derek." She grabbed her husband by the arm and dragged him to one side. "What's with the territorial act?" She hissed.

"Casey. The guy's a jerk and he was feeling you up. Of course I'm going to re-act."

"You do realise you sound like a caveman right now, don't you?"

"I fucking hope so. I'm feeling pretty primitive."

"That might work with some girls Derek, but it doesn't work with me."

Derek looked over his shoulder. "The only _girl_ I want it to work on is him."

Casey rolled her eyes. Her husband slung an arm around her shoulder.

"Come on. We're going. I'd say nice seeing you, Giles, but my mom told me not to lie." Derek said. Penny and Jazz started to move off down the aisle with the carts.

"Hang on Venturi." Giles said with a smirk. Derek dropped his arm from Casey and eased back round to face the other man. "I'm here with friends too and some of them are also from Queens."

Derek winced because he was still nervous of anyone knowing where they had been before New York.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And one of them is an…what's the phrase? Ah!..._intimate_ of yours."

This time it was Casey's turn to feel a sense of dread.

"Giles? Did you find the Haagen Daz?" A soft, musical _female _voice said from round the corner. Derek's eyes widened and Casey's heart sank as a very beautiful _blonde_ woman came around the corner.

"Yes! I got it. Come here Rachel. Guess who I bumped into!"

"Derek Venturi!" Rachel cooed. And Derek looked up into the face of the girl who he was supposed to have been in bed with the day of Lizzie's attack.

* * *

Casey didn't know Giles' friend, but she knew her type – and it was Derek's. She caught the slight down-ward glance of his eyes as he checked out her chest and the almost imperceptible change in his stance as though his whole body was smirking. Derek _knew_ this girl. They obviously had a past and on body language alone, the past could still have a future. Casey bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying.

"Rachel." Derek said. "What are you doing here?"

She stepped closer.

"Don't I get a hug?" She asked, throwing herself into his arms. Casey watched tortured as Derek didn't push her away. "You look good D." She said, running her fingers into his hair. "I missed you."

Derek cocked his head. "I'll bet you did."

"I'm not used to being ditched like that." She pouted and pressed a finger to his lips. "Where did you get to?"  
Giles laughed and walked over to Casey again, throwing an arm around her shoulder.

"He got married, Rache."

Derek glanced at Giles and the way he had his arm around Casey. He was about to say something and then Rachel spoke.

"Seriously Derek?" She barely glanced at Casey. "I didn't think settling was your sort of thing. Marriage…" She giggled. "Are her parents loaded?"

Seeing that Derek wasn't able to speak, Jazz stepped forward.

"Dude. We need to get going. The guys are going to be wondering where we got to with the beer and…"

Giles was rubbing Casey's arm and whispering in her ear. She giggled.

"Hey! I've just had a great idea!" He said, and both Jazz and Penny _knew_ it wasn't going to be great at all. "We're here getting food and stuff for our awesome party tonight. Seeing as we're all staying in the area, you should come, bring all your friends." He winked at Casey.

Jazz wanted Derek to snap out of whatever weird zone he'd disappeared to and reclaim his wife.

Derek looked at Giles pawing Casey, and forwards at the blonde still attached to him.

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

And Jazz wanted to throttle the guy.

* * *

"Can you believe those two?" Jazz asked Penny. She sighed and leaned her head back on the sun lounger.

"What about them? The fact that they have the perfect marriage and are trying to throw it down the tubes or the fact that they are both flirting with people they couldn't give two hoots about?"

Jazz sighed. "Actually, both. I can't believe neither of them even mentioned it in the car. Jesus! What is it with those two?"

"Do we really have to go to this party? I was hoping we could just grill and beer here." Penny asked, languidly. Her boyfriend shrugged.

"It's up to you, but I just don't trust those two not to fuck up. I guess we need to go and babysit them."  
"Mel and Carl?"

"No. Casey and Derek."

"Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye. I wish they would just tell us what was going on."

Jazz scratched his nose. "Derek says not until tomorrow."

"Yeah. Casey said the same thing."

"I'm worried that everything will be a pile of shit by tomorrow."

"You're right. We need to go to that party. Great! Bang goes my early night."

Jazz smirked. "Your early night?"

"Yeah. I was going to have a soak in the bath and read a nice book." Penny teased, barely able to hide her grin.

"Over my dead body!" Jazz said, sliding a hand up her thigh.

Penny pulled a face. "Hmmm. Whatever sort of early night we had planned it isn't going to happen if we're babysitting Bonnie and Clyde."

Jazz's fingers toyed with the tie on Penny's bikini bottoms. "We could just go for an afternoon nap." He said softly.

Penny giggled and held out her hand for him to take and pull her up.

"Lead on MacDuff!"

* * *

Casey looked at herself in the mirror of the en-suite. Somehow she had managed to make herself look good tonight. She had covered the puffy eyes which came from tiredness, travelling and the small weeping session she had had when she came back from Wal-mart. It had been a quiet journey home from the store and Derek hadn't said a word to her, or even touched her hand. Unlike the journey there where he had moaned because she insisted on wearing her seat belt which meant he couldn't hold her.

It wasn't that Casey had ever forgotten about Derek being more _experienced _than she was. It had been a thought in the back of her mind ever since she had known him. But, she had come to think since their marriage that he was deeper than the shallow player he sometimes appeared to be. She wouldn't have let things progress as far as she had otherwise. And now she was confronted with the evidence of how fickle he was with relationships. At least, she had held off from having sex with him. Now the marriage was obviously not going to last, she had to be grateful for small mercies.

Seeing Giles again was strange. At one time she had spent many an hour daydreaming about him. He had been a charmer from day one, making her laugh till her sides ached, and always ready with a comforting arm or hand. When he had pulled away from her just as things seemed to be going well in their freshman year, saying his grandmother was sick and he wouldn't have time to date, she had been really upset. She smiled. At the time, she had cried buckets over him. She hadn't thought she could cry any _more_ over something. Today, she had realised however, there are times when the hurt is _so_ bad you can't even cry. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She would go out tonight, hold her head up high and enjoy the company of her friends. She no longer felt anything other than friendship towards Giles, but tonight it was his ability to make her laugh that she needed most of all.

Derek was dressing in the bedroom. Or rather he was sitting on the bed, talking to Angelo on the phone.

"Don't you think it's just a _little_ suspect that he's here when we are?" Derek asked the agent.

"Derek, I've told you. We've checked Giles out and there's nothing suspicious about his being there. He has a few minor blemishes to do with smoking pot and drinking, but he has no connection to the mafia or Stefan in any way. This trip was booked months ago before you even made the decision to come."

"Can't you find something on him?" Derek sounded desperate.

Angelo laughed. "You really don't like the guy do you?"

Derek said nothing. Angelo carried on. "I saw the CCTV of him grabbing Casey. She didn't seem to be complaining."

"That's part of the problem."

"Isn't that a bit like the pot calling the kettle black?"

"Meaning?"

"Rachel…" Angelo said in a leading way.

Derek chuckled. "She's like that with everyone. To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't grab me between the legs. That's what she normally does. Maybe it was out of respect for Casey."

There was an extended bout of laughter down the phone.

"What?" Derek asked.

"Respect for Casey?" Angelo chuckled. "Believe me Derek Rachel doesn't respect any other female – and certainly not your wife."

* * *

Derek was downstairs when Jazz appeared dressed to go out.

"I am really looking forward to tomorrow." Jazz said as he pulled a beer out of the fridge.

"Why what's happening tomorrow?" Derek asked.

"You're telling me why you let some skank grope you in front of Casey."

Derek coughed. "Yeah? And when's Casey telling you why she let that ass-wipe grope _her_ in front of me."  
"Jesus Derek! Are you trying to ruin your marriage? You two need to talk to each other and soon."

"We plan to."

"Good. Make sure you do."

.

Upstairs, Penny had knocked on Casey's door.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked as Casey let her in.

Casey shrugged. "As I'll ever be."

Penny noticed the sad look on Casey's face.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked.

Casey shook her head. "I've spent all afternoon thinking about it, I need a break and some laughter."

"From Giles?" There was a steely element to Penny's voice. Casey noticed it.

"He's a nice guy, Penny."  
"I'm sure he is. And you're a married woman."

Casey sighed. "Right now I am…" She said and her voice diminishing as she finished the sentence.

"Meaning?" Penny asked with concern. Casey shook herself.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"  
Her eyes were fierce and Penny had no choice but to nod her head in acquiescence.

"The guys are waiting. Let's go."

* * *

**AN: Never, when you are writing, choose a character's name called "Penny". If you have any kind of typing skills at all it makes for all sorts of silly typos… I think Peeny was my favourite!**

**This is a difficult couple of chapters to write because I want so desperately to cut to the chase, but first I need to cover a seismic shift between the characters with something approaching realism. If it takes me a while to get these chapters out, it is because I am still thinking this through. There is still a way to go on this fic. I've given up trying to count chapters. I know how the plot is going to go, but extra chapters keep creeping in.**

**Do keep looking at the SEZCPL page though. I have been posting hints etc on there. There's also a discussion I would like to get some feedback on about one of my other stories and something else quite dramatic.**


	42. The Party

"Casey! You look beautiful as always. Here! Come with me and I'll get you a drink." And with that comment on their arrival at the party, Giles swiftly separated wife from husband. His batman in the form of Rachel quickly stepped up to the mark, slipping her arm possessively through Derek's, saying "We have so much to talk about."

Penny, stunned, looked at Jazz. "What happened to respect for the sanctity of marriage?"

Jazz rolled his eyes. "This evening is going to be excruciating." He predicted.

He was right.

Derek flirted outrageously with Rachel and Casey soaked up the attention from Giles. The former grew more and more angry at his wife's lack of attention, and the latter grew more and more upset as she watched her marriage evaporate before her eyes.

Stuck in the middle, Penny and Jazz cringed, but they knew enough about human nature to not openly interfere. Instead, they stayed close to prevent anything too disastrous and to be there should either of their friends need help.

.

Jazz watched Derek drinking himself senseless, and Penny watched Casey sink deeper into her pit of despair – despite Giles or maybe because of him.

"Derek. This isn't funny, you know?" Jazz caught his friend by the arm. "Slow down."

"Jazz…relax. I can drink a whale under the table. I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah. So do I…throwing your marriage away."

Derek snorted. "Marriage. What fucking marriage? Does that look like a faithful wife to you?" He pointed to Casey who was sitting on the beach some distance away apparently laughing at something Giles had said. Jazz sighed.

"Derek. She's really upset and you aren't making things any better."

"Yeah? Well I'm pissed and she and lover-boy aren't making things any better over here either." He stared his friend out, and Jazz gave in.

"Fine. But when she serves you with divorce papers citing your infidelities, think on this moment."

"The divorce papers are a fore-gone conclusion anyway, Jason. So fuck off."

Jazz did exactly that.

.

Penny was talking to some really nice sorority girls from Washington who were friends of Giles' brother when she suddenly realised Casey was missing. She looked up in horror and when further searches failed to find her friend, went to seek out Jazz.

"Have you seen Casey?" She asked, puffing slightly because she had been forced to run down the beach.

"No. Why?"

"I got distracted. I haven't seen her for half an hour." Penny admitted. "You don't think…?" She asked, both of them remembering New York. Jazz shook his head.

"Lightning doesn't strike twice." He said simply because he was still unaware of what the New York incident was all about. "Have you tried Giles' house?"

Penny nodded.

"Okay. We'll split up. You go that way and start walking down the beach and towards our house. I'll go this way and look for Derek."

.

Meanwhile, Derek was now totally wasted. Rachel was not. She leant towards him and whispered something in his ear. Derek grinned up at her, trying to ignore the fact that he couldn't focus properly. Then when she stood and held out her hand to him, he took it and she led him off into the darkness.

Casey, watching from the sidelines where she had been waiting to talk to him, closed her eyes against the image. And when she opened them it was to turn and flee.

Penny eventually found her on the dunes beside their own beach house. She didn't have a key to get so had been forced to wait for Penny and Jazz. Penny wanted to berate her for walking the three miles home along the beach on her own, but she was already in such a state, her friend didn't dare chance it.

"Hey!" Penny said, sitting down. "Ready to talk?"

Casey nodded.

* * *

Jazz was a good friend, and personally he thought Derek didn't deserve him. He especially didn't deserve the fact that instead of being tucked up in a massive bed with his hot girlfriend, strawberries and (whipped) cream, Jazz was patrolling the dark beach to the north and south of Giles' house, looking for his errant friend. He was particularly concerned, that Rachel, the wicked bitch of the South was apparently also missing. Which in view of Derek's inebriated state, and the rocky status of his marriage was a bad idea all round. Hell! They had only been there less than a day and this was all going to shit. Even Mel and Carl had remained relatively sober, and appeared to be just enjoying a beer rather than chatting up random chicks in the hope of some action. Jazz couldn't believe this was Derek. He'd had no idea that Derek was like this.

In Derek's defence, neither had he.

* * *

"Where do you want me to start?" Casey asked, sniffing and reluctantly wiping her nose on her cardigan sleeve because she had exhausted the two packets of tissues she had brought with her.

"Are you and Derek really married?" Penny asked, leaping to that question because whilst she had never doubted it before, she doubted it tonight.

Casey nodded again. "Yes. We are. But…it was…is…a marriage of convenience."

"Convenience?" Penny exclaimed. "Convenience to whom?"

Casey chuckled humourlessly.

"I'll start at the beginning. Derek is my step-brother. His dad married my mom six years ago. After the wedding, me my sister and my mom moved into Derek's family home with him, his brother and sister. It's worked really well. The family is great. But Derek and I…hate each other."

Penny opened her mouth to say something. Casey shook her head.

"Let me finish before you ask questions or I'll leave something out. Anyway, we hate each other, but over the years we've got used to bailing each other out of problems. Earlier this year, my father received death threats from a client and to cut a long story short, while my sister and I were visiting him in New York, someone attacked us and put my sister in a coma."

Penny gasped. Casey paused, thinking back to the sight of Lizzie lifeless on the bloodied steps.

"The whole family had to go into witness protection until after the trial but because we wanted to be at college, Derek and were housed away from the rest of our family. Then we found out that Derek's side of the family were immune from attack because they have historic links to the mob. The FBI wanted us to pose as a married couple to protect me by making me a Venturi. Derek suggested the safest bet was if he _really_ married me."

Penny hid a smirk. "Derek suggested that…?"

"Yes. It made sense…at the time,"

Casey's friend muttered "I'm sure it did" under her breath. Casey frowned and then continued.

"So I went with him to Las Vegas and married him. Then we moved to New York."

"Hang on. Wasn't that where your sister was attacked?"

"Yes. Apparently it's called the Purloined Letter approach."

"Poe? Oh. Yes I see."

"That's when you met us, fresh from a wedding neither of us wanted to someone we both hated."

"You couldn't tell." Penny said with a smile.

Casey picked up some sand from the ground and watched it run through her fingers in the moonlight.

"Over time, sharing the things we did, we became friends and then it was evident it was going to be more than just friendship. I went home to see Lizzie, without Derek, and all I could think about was him. When I got to Canada, my dad and Derek's dad started to plan our divorce as soon as they found out about our marriage – at about the same time as I realised I was falling in love with him."

"And Derek?"

"Told me he felt the same way. The whole marriage thing felt real and we started to talk about telling the family we didn't want a divorce. After the ball, we started to be more intimate, and he told me he loved me, but he also said that we needed to make a decision about our marriage because he wasn't going to have sex with me unless I was staying as his wife. It was on the back of that we came down here. With things still very up in the air, and a great deal of uncertainty between us." She shook her head. "I never thought that he would be unfaithful…he swore he never would be. I believed him." She sobbed the last sentence. Penny put an arm around her friend.

"He cares about you, Casey. He's just having a bad day."

"We all have bad days, Penny. We don't go off and screw the nearest dumb blonde."

"You don't know that. Besides, you've spent much of the evening wrapped in another guy."

"An old friend."

"An old friend who you used to have a big crush on." Penny said firmly.

"Derek told you?"

"He told Jazz. Derek's pissed about it Casey. Much like you are about Rachel."

"He should have told me."

"And you should have told him that you were upset about the blonde."

Casey let the tears run down her cheeks unhindered. "It will never work." She said softly. "We only know how to communicate with each other by fighting."

Penny squeezed Casey to her side. "It's called passion, honey. And no relationship can survive without it."

* * *

Jazz eventually found Derek too. He was lying on his back on a picnic bench about half a mile from their house. He reeked of booze and vomit, his clothes were wrinking and sand-covered and the sea air had matted his hair.

"Oh. Look who it isn't!" Jazz cried. "God's gift to women reclining."

"Fuck off!" Derek groaned. "Leave me to die."

Jazz pulled himself up on the picnic table and perched looking at his misguided fool of a friend.

"Where have you been?" He asked casually.

"I have been to Hell and back - kissed satanic Queen." Derek intoned. "Travelling at the speed of light - saw things never seen. Arm in arm with Lucifer - Belial on my back. I have swam the lake of flames - walked forbidden tracks. To Hell -- and back. To Hell -- and back."

"You and your obscure rock lyrics. Who was it this time?"  
"Venom." Derek replied, his throat scratchy from the beer and the vomit.

"Seriously D."

"Where was I? I got an invitation from a hot bod." Derek answered honestly.

Jazz clenched his jaw and his fist. Derek noticed.

"You want me to talk to you or what?" He asked the guy in front of him. "Because this is your one and only chance to hear the sorry ballad of Dasey."

"Dasey?"

"Yeah. You know. Like Brangelina."

* * *

Penny and Casey sat for a long time watching the sea creeping in and out, listening to the soft sound of the surf.

"It's very therapeutic, isn't it?" Penny said after a long while.

Casey took a breath and started to speak.

"…So comes to us at times, from the unknown, And inaccessible solitudes of being,

The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul; And inspirations, that we deem our own,

Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing, Of things beyond our reason or control."

Penny smiled. "Longfellow."

Casey smiled weakly too. "I'm impressed you recognise it."

"It's that "foreshadowing and foreseeing" phrase. It's unmistakeable." She put a hand on Casey's. "I'm going in. Are you going to be okay?"

Casey nodded. "I just want to sit here a while before bed. I'll be safe here. I'm close enough to the house to shout you if the bogeyman comes."

Penny stood up, brushing the sand from her dress.

"Just don't mistake Derek for him."

Casey grinned. "Derek's not a bogeyman; An obnoxious jerk sometimes but not a bogeyman."

"Casey. He loves you. Give him chance to explain."

"I'll give him as long as he gives me." She replied.

And as Penny walked back to the house she paused and turned to look at Casey. Her friend was back to staring at the sea. Penny thought about Casey's last sentence and as the hidden meaning hit her she smiled, feeling hope for the first time today.

* * *

**AN: Hidden meaning.**

"**I'll give him as long as he gives me" – i.e. Casey will listen to Derek's explanation of his behaviour for as long as he listens to her explanation of her behaviour. i.e. Casey is acknowledging that she is equally to blame.**


	43. The Aftermath

Jazz listened to Derek's story till he'd finished telling it.

"Were you really like this in Kingston?" He asked at the end. Derek shrugged.

"Well I wasn't the goody-two shoes I am in New York, but no. I don't think I was this bad either."

"Why?"

"Why what?"  
"Why are you being like this now?"  
"Because she drove me to it."  
"Who? Rachel?"  
"No! Casey."

"So what happened tonight?"

Derek chuckled. "I was a bit less than a gentleman."

Jazz started to look angry but Derek held up his hand, and then proceeded to tell his friend in graphic detail.

Then there was silence before Jazz stood up.

"Come on, you stupid asshole, before I decide to leave you out here all night."

And he pulled Derek upright and helped him down off the picnic table, a procedure which resulted in them winding up in a heap on the sand.

Jazz got up brushing himself off and helped Derek up.

"Tell me you can walk in a straight line, Venturi or you'll spend the night under the table."  
"I wouldn't say straight exactly." Derek admitted. "But yeah. I can walk home."  
"Good."

They made their way along the beach in silence. Then Derek started with his drunken singing again.

"_All alone at the end of the of the evening, And the bright lights have faded to blue._" He was, fortunately, singing softly for the moment and it took Jazz a while to work out where he recognised the lyrics from.

"_I was thinking 'bout a woman who might have  
Loved me and I never knew  
You know I've always been a dreamer  
(spent my life running 'round)  
And it's so hard to change  
(Can't seem to settle down)  
But the dreams I've seen lately  
Keep on turning out and burning out  
And turning out the same._"

Jazz decided in for a penny, in for a pound…and joined in.  
"_So put me on a highway  
And show me a sign  
And take it to the limit one more time._" They chorused at the top of their voices, arms thrown out wide dramatically.

"You always sing when you're drunk?" Jazz asked Derek when they had both given up on the next verse because they couldn't remember the words.

"Oh yeah. And there's normally some Eagles stuff in there somewhere. It's Tequila music."

"Too damn right!" Jazz agreed. They grinned at each other and Jazz started to see the Derek he knew in the shell of the guy in front of him. "D?"

"Yeah?"

"Sort it out with Casey before you screw up your marriage."

"You really think there's a marriage under all this?" He asked, seriously needing the answer.

Jazz clapped him on the back. "Well if you two can't make it work, none of us have got a hope in hell."

.

They reached the house and Derek stood for a moment looking over the deserted beach. Jazz stood next to him.

"Do you love her?"

"I married her didn't I?"

"Yeah but that was before."  
Derek turned and smiled at his friend.

"Yeah…that's what I thought too. I was wrong."

* * *

Casey wasn't sure how long she sat on the dunes after Penny went in, but eventually, she decided to try and attempt sleep. She made her way up the path to the house, grateful to Penny for the lights she had left on so that Casey could pick her way across the deck. She knew that Jazz had a key so she locked the door behind her and made her way up to bed. Her feet felt gritty from the sand in her sandals, and her face felt sticky with tears, so she decided to have a shower before bed, not wanting to change the bed linen in the morning.

In the shower, she let the warm water wash the tears away and she thought about Derek – and worried about him. He was drunk and she didn't trust Rachel to stop him from getting into trouble – trouble other than _her_.

Shower finished, she dried herself and slipped on a cotton cami-top with pretty little matching shorts, and after she had cleaned her teeth, climbed into bed. Sleep did not come easy and after a while, she realised she wasn't going to be able to sleep until either Derek came home or Jazz came home with news of him.

About an hour after she climbed into bed, she heard voices downstairs and banging as someone stumbled about. Casey opened her bedroom door a crack just in time to hear Jazz telling Derek to get in the bathroom if he was going to be sick again because Jazz wasn't cleaning it up.

Casey rolled her eyes and made her way downstairs. A very tired and frustrated Jazz was standing outside the bathroom door listening to Derek being sick again.

"How is he?" She asked.

"Drunk." Jazz replied. "I think he's been hitting the tequila."

Casey wrinkled her nose.

"Penny texted me earlier to say you made it home okay." Jazz said. "Is she in bed?"

"Yes. Jazz. You go up. I'll sort him out."  
"You don't have to."

"Yes I do, Jazz. Quite apart from the wedding ring, the idiot is my step-brother after all."

Jazz sighed. "Just go easy on him, okay. I don't want to have to come down and separate you two."

"I haven't got the energy to fight." Casey reassured Jazz and patted his arm. "Go up."

He nodded and made for the stairs.

"Oh and Jazz?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for bringing him home safely."

* * *

Derek emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later looking like he should be in hospital having his stomach pumped. He stared at her.

"Use the upstairs bathroom." He said abruptly.

"I don't need the bathroom." Casey replied.

He frowned and she continued.

"I was making sure you were okay."

He snorted. "Fan-fucking-tastic." And then she watched as he slid down the wall landing in a heap.

Casey rolled her eyes at her drunken husband. "You're an idiot, Derek."

"You're beautiful."

He paused and started to hum, then after a few moments he whisper-sang:

"_The way your smile just beams__  
__The way you sing off key__  
__The way you haunt my dreams__  
__No they can't take that away from me_

_We may never never meet again, on that bumpy road to love__  
__But I'll always, always keep the memory of_

_The way you hold your knife__  
__The way we danced till three__  
__The way you changed my life__  
__No they can't take that away from me_."

Casey's eyes filled with tears as she registered the words.

"Did you sleep with her?" She couldn't help it. She needed to know.

"Does it matter?" He asked, bluntly.

She stared at him. "Of course it freaking matters!"

He sighed and she could smell the alcohol across the hall.

"I tried…to leave with her. I thought I could. I mean, at college we always flirted and I ditched a date with her to come rescue you in New York." His eyes closed and his head nodded. Casey thought he had gone to sleep, when suddenly he sat up a bit straighter.

"She has so much _class_." He said, stammering out the word "class". "I mean she thought it was cool that I wasn't one of those guys who takes off their wedding ring when they cheat. She thought keeping it on made me _honest_."

"Oh." Casey said listlessly.

Derek snorted. "I opened my mouth, told her to go to hell and then vomited down her."

"You told her to go to hell?" Casey asked amazed.

He nodded.

"Why?"

Derek hauled himself upright.

"If you're still asking that question, I'm going to go pass out on the couch." He said, swaying slightly. "When you figure the answer out. You call me."

"Derek…"

"Casey. I'm wasted. I can't think straight, let alone walk straight. I need to sleep this off. Go to bed."

And with that he was gone.

* * *

Casey went up to their room, but only to get two blankets and two pillows. By the time she reached the living room again, Derek was sound asleep on the couch. She managed to lift his head and slot a pillow under it, and she pulled the blanket over his slumbering form. Then she took the cushions from the rest of the couch and made herself a bed in front of it, her head resting on the couch beside him. She looked at the sleeping form of her husband and brushed a lock of hair from his face before lying down and eventually falling asleep.

.

Derek woke once in the night needing to pee. He opened his eyes to see Casey beside him and he allowed himself a tiny smile at her refusal to obey him. He somehow managed to get off the couch and to the bathroom without waking her, and then the return journey was made, with a detour to the kitchen for some painkillers; the vomiting and sleep had started to sober him up, but he knew he was going to have the hangover to beat all hangovers. He slipped back onto the couch, and moved closer to his wife.

* * *

**AN: Quicker than I thought…but that's because I had planned it out. Three chapters in one day. I'm spoiling you ;-)**


	44. The Ultimatum

"Surf's up dude!"

"Fuck off, Carl!"

Derek blinked as the face of his sometime college friend loomed in front of him. He really hoped he had Tequila breath because no-one, repeat _no-one_ deserved to be woken to the sight of Carl first thing in the morning.

"He's right, Derek. Time to get up and hit some waves." Jazz said from somewhere off to Derek's left as Carl and Mel ran bare-foot and screaming out of the house and onto the beach.

"You fucking traitor." Derek moaned, but Jazz just laughed.

"It's 9.30am, Venturi. Up and at 'em!

He tried but daylight, excessive exuberance from his friends and a thumping head stopped Derek in his tracks. Remembering the events of the previous night, Derek looked at Jazz.  
"Where's Casey? She was here when I went to sleep."

Jazz chuckled. "She was here when I got up but now she's putting a serious dent in your credit card." He replied and then when he saw the confusion on Derek's face, he elaborated.

"She's gone shopping with Penny. Something about a new dress, shoes and purse…and you deserve it apparently, or at least Casey does.

Derek snorted. "And what do I get for her flirting with Giles?"

Jazz laughed. "You get to be safe in the knowledge that having met up with him again, she still thinks she's in love with you."

"Did she say that?" Derek asked hopefully, because that would be a relief.

"No. It shines out of every orifice."  
"You leave my wife's body out of this!" Derek retorted with a grin. Jazz flicked at him with the towel he was carrying.

"Come on D. Best cure for a hangover going is adrenaline. Wipe out a couple of times and you'll not remember the tequila night."

"Oh that that were true!" Derek said sagely, but he had managed to sit himself up now, and was making moves to stand up. He decided on a shower to try and rid himself of the hangover before he went into the sea.

When he got to the room he shared with his wife, there was a note waiting for him.

_Dear Jerk,_

_You owe Jazz and Penny a massive apology. Unfortunately, so do I. It seems they spent most of last night baby-sitting us which is totally unfair considering we wouldn't be here on vacation without their generosity._

_I don't know what's going on between us, but yesterday really hurt. I've spent the whole of our marriage thinking that I'd got you all wrong, and then last night you reverted to type. Which Derek are you?_

_I know I'm not blameless for yesterday. It was a shock to see Giles again after the events of our freshman year. But I realise now that he was merely a fun person to be around and that I was flattered by the attention. His behaviour last night brought it home to me that he is far from a gentleman. I wasn't totally ignorant of the whole "grandma" business even back then. Being dumped because I wouldn't have sex is not a new experience for me. (Being refused when I _really_ want it _is. Only you would do that._)_

_Last night, when he managed to get me alone, Giles told me he could tell our marriage wasn't a happy one and that he wanted to be with me. He implied that now I "wasn't a virgin" there was no reason why we couldn't date. Nice huh? Especially since it was his presence and that of Rachel that caused the unrest between us. I was coming to tell you that I wanted to go home when I saw you with Rachel._

_Don't worry, I believe you when you say nothing happened. I did anyway, but I got a text from Giles this morning telling me that Rachel is beyond pissed because you ruined her designer pumps. I'm afraid my reply wasn't particular ladylike._

_Anyway, I've made a decision, and now I'm giving you space to think about it. I think tonight when I get back I would like you to have an answer for me: no more discussions, no more talking it out, no more prevaricating._

_My decision is this: I've decided that I'm going to grow up. I'm ready to be a wife or an ex-wife. I have conditions for how I want to live my life and whether or not you are my partner from now on depends on _your decision_. You need to decide who you are. Are you Derek the Jerk, sometime player who goes through girls like he does his socks – and sometimes more frequently, or are you Derek the husband in whose arms I've spent many a night? Do you want freedom to do what you like without ties? Or do you want to have a future as part of US - the unconventional couple that seems to work?_

_I said I love you, and I mean that regardless of who you really are. But if last night is the real Derek I will love you and leave you because I can't put myself through that. It makes me behave in ways I can't accept or tolerate. I'm hoping that my husband is the real Derek because then we could have a great future together._

_Take today to think about it, because tonight is the decision time: Together or apart?_

_One last thing, because this might be the last time I get to say this._

_I love you. It isn't always a comfortable love, and it definitely isn't a popular love with all of those around us. But I don't know how to stop loving you, and I hope you won't make me._

_But if that is your choice, I will try._

_Casey._

Later, when Derek emerged from the shower he had taken after reading the letter, he was towelling his hair thoughtfully. Before he dressed he snatched up his cell phone from beside the bed and typed in a text.

**Persuade Penny 2 buy a new dress & get her hair done & stuff**

Casey's reply was almost immediate. **Why?**

Derek sat on the bed tapping away. **Coz I'm going 2 pay for Jazz 2 take her out 2 dinner tonite as an apology**

Casey replied **Good idea. I'll take her for a mani/pedi too**

Derek snorted. He knew how much Casey liked her nails to be perfect. **No self interest there at all?**

**None what so ever**. She retorted.

He chuckled. **Whatever, Princess. Just stick it on the joint account.**

**Can we afford it? **Casey's miserly ways surfaced.

**We can't afford not to.** Was his honest reply.

* * *

The male portion of their group spent all morning in the water. Derek wasn't a strong surfer, but likewise he wasn't a beginner either. Jazz had been surfing since he could stand up as a baby, so he was as comfortable on a board as he was on the land. He showed Derek a few tricks that really helped and by the end of the morning, Derek was feeling quite proud of his progress. Carl and Mel were more experienced surfers but they were also clowns and so spent more time wiping out than they did riding anything.

"I don't know why they bother." Jazz said, as he and Derek sat on the beach watching their two friends. "If they quit being assholes they'd have much more fun."  
"There's a life lesson there." Derek said wryly sipping his can of coke.

Jazz chuckled. "How's the head?"  
"Clearing…gradually. Sugar and that bacon roll this morning helped."

"Have you spoken to Case?"

Derek shook his head. "No but she left me a note. She's given me an ultimatum."

His friend sipped his drink. "That's a bit harsh."

"Not really. She's right. We need to quit screwing around and work out where this is going. We're hurting other people as well as ourselves. I'm sorry about last night."

Jazz shrugged. "We all have off days."

"Nah! That was more than an off day. Look, Casey and I want you to take Penny out to dinner tonight on us. Casey hasn't told her, but she's going to persuade Penny to buy a new dress, get her hair done and all the usual shit. Take her out, Jazz. Give her somewhere special to wear the dress, and I'll pay."

"You don't have to…"

"Yes. We do."

"Okay. Then we accept. What are you going to do?"

Derek smirked. "I have plans…" he said coyly. "Actually, I need your help with them too."

"Is it going to help you sort this all out?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm in." Jazz said slapping Derek on the back.

Casey and Penny had taken a bus to go shopping, so the car was still parked out the front of the house. As lunchtime approached, the four guys, showered and dressed again headed into town to find a burger bar for food. Mel and Carl had plans to meet a group of people from the party, so they left the other two as soon as they had finished eating, which suited Derek and Jazz who had shopping of their own to do, and weren't comfortable with having an audience.

* * *

"Well if that doesn't hook you a husband, nothing will." Penny said from her position standing outside Casey's dressing cubicle. The shop assistant laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"I already have a husband. It's keeping him I'm interested in."

"Semantics, Casey. It's all about seduction."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Who's the sudden expert?"

Penny looked bashful. "Well…"

Her friend's eyes were like saucers. "Really?" Penny nodded.

"Wow! I mean…I guess it was inevitable, and everything because you're staying in his room but…"

"It was the night of the ball." Penny said quietly. "That really shook both of us up and Jazz said some really sweet things about us and our relationship and suddenly there didn't seem to be any reason to wait any longer."

Casey sighed. "He's a nice guy Penny. One of Derek's better friends. How was it?"

"You know…okay. Not unpleasant as such, just…awkward. It's been great ever since though."

She grinned in reminiscence. Casey found herself smiling too. Then she remembered Derek's suggestion from earlier and she looked archly at her friend.

"Pen. You know you should try that pale pink dress on. It would really suit you."  
"I wasn't planning on buying anything, Casey."

"But you never spend money on clothes. One little dress won't hurt. And I could get this dress, and then I saw a drop-in hair salon on the way here. We could get our nails done…come on. I'll treat you to a pedicure to say sorry for last night."  
"You don't need to Casey."

"No. But I want to. You were there for me." She straightened and linked her arm through Penny's. "Come on. Let's knock their socks off!"

* * *

"Get everything?" Jazz asked Derek as they left the mall.

"I think so. Did you make your reservation?"

Jazz nodded. "Are you sure about paying?"

"Defo."

"Cool. Let's get back before the girls arrive and work out something is up."

Derek nodded but there was some hesitancy in his manner.

"What's up?" Jazz asked.

"Nerves."

Jazz laughed. "Well that's a first!" he said, leading him towards the car and popping the trunk so that Derek could put his shopping inside.

* * *

"Thanks Casey. I feel like a million dollars."

"You look like ten."

"Ten million or ten dollars?" Penny asked with a grin.

"Ten million, silly."

"So do you. It's getting late. We should head back. What did you have planned for tea tonight?"

Casey shrugged. "I thought I'd barbeque something half dead. So long as it's dripping blood and comes with a bread bun the guys will be happy."

"When are you going to talk to Derek?"

"After dinner, I think."

"I'll hang around, in case you need me."

Casey glanced up at her friend.

"You don't have to. I think I would rather be on my own."

"What if it doesn't go well…?"

"Then I'll just have to live with it." Casey said, wishing she was as confident of her ability to do that as her voice sounded.


	45. Wet Footprints

Casey watched Jazz lead Penny from the house to the waiting cab with a tingle of envy. They had a conventional relationship that had begun like countless others before them, and would progress like hundreds more, however their coin eventually fell. They did not meet because of their parents' marriage, they would not marry because someone was trying to kill them, and they would not divorce because their parents didn't want to see them in love.

Penny looked good in the dress they had chosen with her hair newly styled and pale artificially pink finger and toenails clipped and shaped perfectly, the latter peeking from the open toe heels chosen to match the dress. Jazz had been impressed with his girlfriend's new look. Casey made a mental note to find some ear plugs tonight. He had looked very pleased with himself!

Her own outfit was equally pretty, her own hair looked good for the attention of a decent stylist and her digits were neat and polished just the same. But, Derek hadn't been around when she arrived home a short while ago. And despite Jazz's reassurance that he was "around somewhere", Casey wasn't convinced he hadn't decided to avoid her…and her demands.

She should be giggling like her friend, but she wanted to cry. She had a feeling tonight was going to end in tears.

Sighing as she closed the door behind her friends, Casey turned meaning to go up to her room and change into something more appropriate for lounging on the beach. The sun would set soon and she felt like sitting on a blanket watching the sky go through its spectrum as the sun descended and the moon appeared.

As she raised her eyes from the door, however, Derek was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Hungry?" He asked and she noted he was dressed slightly smarter than normal in chinos and a dress shirt, although he had left the latter untucked.

Casey shrugged. It had been a while since she had eaten, but nerves at the impending conversation had all but killed her appetite.

He smiled. "Come on, Casey. I've made the sort of stuff you can pick at, so it doesn't matter if you aren't particularly hungry."

She looked at him in astonishment. "You cooked!"

He waved a dismissive hand as he turned and led her through the living room to the door onto the deck. "Don't sound so surprised. I can cook, I just choose not to. Now are you coming or not?"

To her further surprise, he didn't stop at the deck but moved to one side to let her out of the house and then locked the door behind them. Then he jumped down onto the sand and held out a hand to her.

"You'll probably want to lose those." He said, motioning to her sandals. "You'll struggle across the sand in them. Frowning with her confusion, Casey slipped the shoes from her feet, took the proffered hand and leapt lightly onto the sand beside him. He smiled at her briefly and then, still holding her hand, led her towards the beach.

In the two days they had been there, they had only really used the main beach which was open to the public, although during the previous night's despair, Casey had sat on the dunes bordering with the small section of private beach. It was towards those dunes that Derek led her now, away from the families playing off to the left. Climbing into the grassy areas was like closing double glazed windows, it cut the sound from the air, till all they were aware of was the soft whispering of the sea on the beach below. Casey wondered where he was taking her until they crested a rise and descended into a hollow where there was a large blanket spread out pinned down by two family-sized coolers.

"I thought it would be better to talk somewhere that wouldn't be affected by blood stains." Derek joked. Casey met his eyes and the smile fade from them. "Neutral ground." He explained seriously. She nodded her understanding.

Derek helped her to sit down on the blanket and then folded his own legs beneath him as he lowered his body to the ground. The curve of the hollow they were in made for a sheltered spot where they could only see the empty beach and sea in front of them…and the beginnings of the sunset that Casey had anticipated.

Derek opened the first cooler. He handed Casey a glass and pulled out a bottle of white wine.

"Don't worry. It's only wine, and not a particularly strong one at that. I don't think my liver will cope with anything else for a while." Casey held the glass vessel for him to fill with the pale liquid. She took a small sip and then a longer one, grateful for the internal warmth it gave. It soothed her ragged nerves.

Her husband did the same and then turned the lid of the cooler over so that they had somewhere flat to stand the glasses. He turned back to the boxes and started to remove a series of small dishes covered in aluminium foil. Delicious smells rose from the dishes and Casey suddenly felt as though she hadn't eaten for a week.

"Tapas." Derek explained. "A Mediterranean picnic, I guess." He uncovered a dish to reveal vine leaf parcels. Further dishes revealed meatballs in chipotle sauce, deep fried squid and a mouth-watering ham and cheese tortilla to name but a few.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Casey asked, unable to resist the crispy squid.

"You don't seriously think I spend all my time watching _just_ hockey on the TV do you?" he chuckled. "I watch food programmes too."

Casey rolled her eyes. "How come I do all the cooking them?"

"You never asked."

Casey dropped her eyes. "I guess we really don't know each other, do we?"  
Derek raised a finger to her cheek and stroked it. "We know each other better than most. It's just every one has something they keep hidden. My secret is that I can cook. What's yours?"

His wife covered his finger with her hand. "I quite like hockey." She admitted meeting his eyes properly for the first time. "And I love you."

Derek sighed and sat back, away from her, and Casey felt the distance straight away.

"The trouble is Casey, you're asking me to be one of two people, and I can't do that. I'm not the player you had me pegged as, but I'm not the virtuous angel of the past four months either."

He saw the look forming on her face and held up his hand. "I don't mean I've been unfaithful, or would be. Or that I've been lying about the way I feel about you, I just mean that I've been acting a part in some ways. I'm not always considerate, and I make mistakes. I may not be a total moron but I'm not Mr Perfect. If Mr Perfect is what you want, then I'm not right for you."

Casey looked out to sea. "This is my fault." She said, quietly. "I plan too much. I have high standards – too high to be realistic. I wanted some text book character who would treat me a particular way, worship the ground I walk on, promise to love me forever."

Derek took her hand. "It takes two, Casey and there's nothing wrong with high standards; too many people settle. And your standards? Worship I can do. But sometimes the potholes on the ground trip _me_ up too. And forever?…I'm not sure I believe in anything other than _this_ life. Which means "forever" is until one of us keels over…and I already promised you that. Even if this marriage doesn't last, you think I would just stop caring?"

Casey shook her head. "I'm not sure I believe in forever either." She admitted, stroking his fingers with her own. "The odds are against us."

"No more than any other couple. So they may not have our challenges, but every couple has hurdles. It's how you deal with them that counts."

"You're full of surprises, Derek Venturi." Casey smiled at the wisdom coming from him.

He shrugged. "Isn't everyone? And that's my point. You want something predictable; to know whether I'm going to behave a particular way or not. Since I don't know, how can _you_ know? I might not be Mr Right. I might just be Mr Try-to-do-it-Right instead."

"I'm not perfect either, Derek." Casey said. "And having given it due care and consideration I no longer think I am looking for a type of person: not Mr Right or Mr Perfect. I think I'm just looking for you."

They watched each other for a moment.

Derek reached into the second cooler. "In which case, can I interest you in some of my Mojo?" He asked, passing her a covered plate. Casey took it but frowned. Derek laughed.

"It's a sauce made with garlic, Spanish paprika, red pepper, cumin seed, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and bread "miga" to thicken it." He explained. But when he removed the foil the dish clearly didn't have food on it. Instead, sitting on the plate looking incongruous to say the least was a small velvet box. Casey stared at the box and then stared at Derek.

"Open it." He whispered. Casey did as she was asked and revealed a ring, similar to her wedding band, but with a single diamond in the setting.

"Marry me?" he asked. She laughed, but it was with him rather than at him and her finger was brushing the stone. "I mean renew our vows or something, for the family - when we aren't poor students and can afford a party." His voice was still quiet. "I want to be your husband. I want to _try_ to be the husband you need."

"I don't _need_ anything, Derek." Casey said softly. "Other than you."

He kissed her gently, snatched the ring box from plate and closed the lid with a loud snap. "Okay. I'll return this then." He said with a smirk. Casey smacked him on the shoulder.

"Give Venturi!" She ordered. He laughed and opened the box again, removing the ring and slipping it onto her finger so that it nestled up against their wedding ring. He moved closer to her so that their lips were all but touching.

"It won't be easy. We have a lot of people to convince. But, clichéd though this sounds, you're _it_ for me."

"And you me." Casey replied, closing the distance. This time the kiss grew deep and passionate and they grabbed at each other as though letting go would send both of them plunging.

The kiss ended abruptly when Derek accidently put his hand in a dish that _really_ contained his mojo…sauce.

"S'ok." He said licking the spicy concoction from his hand. "I'm starving."

"Then dish up and let's eat. I'm hungry too." She grinned at her husband. "And not just for food."

.

Casey wasn't sure what was the bigger surprise: the fact that her husband had just proposed to her…making her both married and engaged at the same time, or that Derek could cook! But the food he had prepared was amazing, and obviously homemade - and she wondered what state the kitchen was in. Actually, that thought process only lasted a second, before she reclined back against the blanket covered sand dune and mock-demanded that Derek feed her. She was going for something Cleopatra-like but ended up sounding more like the giant Venus fly trap from "Little Shop of Horrors".

Derek reclined beside her, his head propped on his elbow, passing her items from the various dishes.

"If you tell anyone I did this, I'll deny it." He said when the food was all gone.

Casey turned her head to look at him, grinning. "The proposal or the feeding me thing?"

"The feeding bit. The proposal is between us anyway, you're already my wife, no one else would understand."

She raised a hand to comb his hair. "It was the second best proposal I've ever heard."

Derek quirked an eyebrow. "What was the best?"

His wife smiled. "Your first one."

"Even though it meant nothing?"

"You really believe that? Derek, if we felt nothing for each other, you would never have asked, and I never would have said yes…not even if our lives depended on it."

"I guess not."

"Tonight was beautiful." Casey said, looking back towards the sea and the dwindling sunset. "It was the perfect meal with the perfect company and the perfect sunset; even if the two protagonists are flawed."

"I'm glad you approve." Derek sat up. "Let's pack up and leave this stuff on the deck and then we can go for a walk along the beach, and talk."  
"About what?"

"Our future. Now that we know we have one."  
.

They walked along the sands, bare-foot and holding hands. A warm gentle breeze tugged at Casey's skirts but not enough to be annoying and the same breeze carried their laughter with it as they joked together.

"Pulitzer!" Casey gasped. "You think I'm going to win a Pulitzer."

"Oh yeah. You have to be a successful journalist otherwise I'll have to work." Derek teased. She pushed against his arm with her hand and he mock-staggered to one side. "Seriously though Casey, much as I want a family, I think we need to talk careers at some point. The benefit of marrying young is we get to work on our careers and then on the family part."  
"I know. That will be great. But I sort of understand now how people make the decision to have children as soon as they get married. I quite like the idea of a bunch of little Venturis running around."  
Derek laughed. "I never thought I'd ever hear you say that."

She smiled. "But you're right. Not yet. I want to carry your child Derek, but I think we both need to grow up a little first." She smirked. "One of us more than the other."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think I'm childish."

"On occasions."

"Such as?" he asked, and she really ought to know better than to trust his smirk.

"You know. When you prank me."

"I haven't done that in a while." He said quietly. "I'm overdue."

"Hmm. Don't get ideas."

"Like?"  
"I don't know. But I don't trust you further than I can throw you."

"Great start for a marriage." He said thoughtfully and then as if considering something. "I wonder how far I can throw you?"

And with that, he scooped her up into his arms and ran into the sea. Casey squealed with laughter, and pulled him down into the waves with her.

They lay there for a moment, letting the waves wash around them.

"Der-ek!" Casey moaned. "I'm all wet."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He asked with a knowing smirk. "Then I would say it was definitely time to go home."

.

They retrieved the coolers and blanket on their way into the house and leaving them in the largely clean kitchen, they padded their way through the living room leaving wet footprints behind them. Casey reached their room, and started to strip her wet clothes from her body, much to Derek's enjoyment. He tossed a towel onto a chair, sat down and prepared to watch the floor show while his own clothes dripped on the floor underneath him. Casey rolled her eyes at him but didn't stop until she was naked and then she grabbed a towel and her bathrobe and headed back out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Derek complained.

"To clean up after us. We can't leave a water trail through the house. Go have a shower." And then she was gone, and Derek was left with no choice but to do as she said.

Cleaning up only took a couple of minutes so Derek was still in the shower when she returned to the room. Casey crossed to the window to look out into the moonlit night and smiled to herself. For the first time in her life she had no doubts about the relationship she was in. If they could overcome the past few months, they could overcome everything. She glanced at her new ring. That hadn't been necessary but it reaffirmed her faith in Derek's hidden depths. Except sometimes, he made very little effort to hide them. She had never known such uneasy comfort with another person as she knew with Derek, and that..._that_ was what made him perfect.

She turned back from the window, drawing the voile drapes across but not closing the shutters and stepped back into the room. Derek was still in the shower and she found herself moving to the door of the en-suite and opening it.

His form was visible through the clear glass screen of the large enclosure, but his back was to her. With the confidence of a seasoned wife, she slipped the robe from her own body, slid open the glass door and joined him.

"Saving water, Casey?" Derek said, smiling at the sight before him. "Lizzie would approve."

"Not now Derek. I don't want to think about my sister now." She said with a look that he sort of recognised but not in Casey's eyes. He took a deep breath and let his hands find her hips.

"Want me to wash the hard to reach places?" He asked, the tone of his voice matching hers.

"Eventually." Casey replied as they kissed briefly.

The water cascaded down over their heads as they came back for a second kiss, and Derek took her head between his hands, his fingers meshing with her long wet hair and his mouth gasping as they kissed frantically. His whole body met hers and he backed her up against the tiled wall. Casey's hands began to explore and Derek reciprocated, lowering his hands to cup her backside and then sliding one hand round to brush her abdomen. His wife pushed against him, trapping his hand and making skin rub against skin. Derek caught his breath.

They rubbed and kissed and stroked for several minutes before he put his lips to her ear. He needed to draw back from this and soon. He knew she was on the pill, and he knew he was safe, he just didn't think the shower was the best place for Casey to lose her virginity.

"Let's go to bed." He murmured, kissing her neck.

"No." Casey said, nuzzling against his neck now. Derek was taken aback for a second, surprised at the rejection, until he bent to look at her face.

"We'll have to dry off and stuff." Casey explained she said, slipping her own hand between them. "Here is fine."

Derek's eyes widened and he grinned against her collarbone.

"Don't you want to lose it nice and slowly in a white four poster bed with the moonlight coming in through the shutters?" He chuckled.

"That's a teenage fantasy Derek. I'm more of a realist now." She muttered something that sounded like "hot and heavy against the tiles". Derek kissed his way back across her chest to her mouth as he checked to see if she was ready.

"It's probably a good job you're a dancer." He commented. "Wrap your legs around my hips." Casey obliged and then gasped as he pushed into her.

"See, we're more compatible than you might think." He spoke breathlessly against her shoulder. "We fit."

.

Later was more like the fantasy. Later, they both stood at the window, Derek in pj pants and Casey in a cream lacy slip that Penny had insisted on buying her. Derek's arm was around her shoulder and Casey was cuddled into his side.

"It's real now, isn't it?" Casey asked. Derek kissed her head.

"Yup. Signed, sealed, _delivered_."

"Der-ek!" Casey protested as he chuckled but then she turned her face to his and he kissed her.

"You _are_ capable of perfect things, Derek." Casey said in a whisper.

"Even with the pain?"

"It was always going to hurt. Actually I think the warm water helped."

"I've revised my opinion of your reserve." Derek smiled. "Who'd have thought Casey McDonald's first time would be in the shower!"

"Don't tease. Casey McDonald didn't. Casey Venturi did. Besides, I didn't hear you complaining. Or was that what all the moaning was about?"

Derek was nuzzling her neck again and Casey felt the now familiar shiver down her spine and across her abdomen. "I never want to hear the word "harder" again unless it's coming from your lips. That was hot."

Casey grinned. "You like it when I say "harder"?" She asked in a warm and inviting voice. Derek groaned. Casey laughed.

"I like the sounds you make too." She confessed. "Did you say something about four-poster beds?"

"Aren't you sore?"

"Yes, but we can take it slowly this time, can't we?" Casey said smiling as Derek backed her towards the bed.

Tonight _was_ going to end in tears after all. But they would be quiet tears of joy as she lay watching her husband the lover asleep beside her.


	46. A Fellow Canadian

It was the soft morning breeze on her face that woke her. Casey blinked at the brightness of the sun, high in the sky and glanced around the room.

She was alone.

Derek's side of the bed was smoothed down in a half-assed way and there was a note on Casey's nightstand.

_Don't be pissed at me, I tried to wake you and you weren't having any of it. I've been kidnapped by Jazz and the guys to go surfing again. Come join us when you are back in the land of the living._

_What's a honeymoon without the bride?_

_ILY_

_DX_

Casey smiled and slipping from their bed shrugged herself into her robe. She walked to the window and pushed open the shutters more so that she could see out. The sun was glistening on the sea in the distance where the waves were less obvious, but close to they were large enough to keep a casual surfer happy and Casey could see the four shapes of her husband and friends. Derek was on the shore laughing at Mel and Carl as they wiped out, but as if sensing her presence he turned and waved up at the window, despite the distance between them. Casey waved back.

.

When she emerged downstairs, Penny was seated at the breakfast bar, reading a gossip mag and eating something that looked like a fresh fruit salad.

"That looks nice." Casey said pointing to the bowl. Penny nodded.

"It is. Hang on. I'll get you some." Her friend jumped off the stool and made for the fridge, returning with a bowl of fruit, a glass and a carton of juice. Penny handed Casey the bowl and started to pour the juice.

"What's that for?" Casey asked as Penny slid the glass across the bar towards her.

"Cranberry juice." Penny answered. "You should drink some."

"Why?" Casey asked, sipping the bitter juice. "Ew!"

"It prevents Cystitis." And then seeing Casey's confused look, she continued. "Otherwise known as the "honeymoon disease". If the creaking noises from your room last night were anything to go by…" Her voice trailed away.

Casey blushed the colour of the juice in front of her and took another sip.

"Sorry." She said.

Penny laughed. "Why? Wasn't he any good?"

Her friend's jaw dropped. "Let's not go there…okay? I'm not the "comparing your partner's attributes" type of girl."

"Thank god for that! Neither am I. I thought I was going to have to spend all morning listening to you tell me how he does this "cute little thing" with his tongue or some such garbage."

"No. But Derek can cook."

"Yeah. Jazz was telling me. He didn't want all three courses last night the way he normally does. When I asked why he wasn't hungry he confessed that Derek had been trying all the food out on him."

Casey laughed. "He's going to regret the picnic, you know because I'll make him cook all our meals for a while." She fiddled with her engagement ring and remembering how perfect the evening had been. "Or maybe not."

"He bought you a ring?"

She nodded. "A sort of post-marriage engagement ring."

"So everything is back on track?" Penny asked.

Casey shook her head. "No. Not back. This time we are going into this with our eyes open. Our marriage starts here."

"Cute. What are you going to do about your family?"

"Take each day as it comes. First we have to get the death sentence lifted from our heads. But regardless, Derek and I are agreed, this marriage is real and we're in it for better or worse."

Penny gave her friend a hug. "I am so relieved to hear you say that."

They finished their breakfasts, swapping notes on their evenings – or at least the bits that they could share. Penny chuckled when Casey told her about being thrown in the sea and coughed politely when Casey admitted she couldn't tell her what happened when they reached their room.

Penny's only personal question was a practical one. "Are you sore? Because I've got some pain killers if you need them."

Casey shook her head. "Actually it's not too bad today. I think the warm water helped."

"A nice soak in the bath afterwards is a good idea. Just avoid scented bath products."

Her friend laughed. "You sound like an infomercial. I meant _the_ shower and not after…" Casey's eyes widened as she realised she was about to share _too much information_.

Penny wasn't silly. "Casey Venturi, did you lose your v-card in the _shower_?" She screeched.

Casey didn't answer. "I'm just going to go see the guys." She said and fled out of the door onto the deck.

.

She had showered and changed since she woke up, choosing a pretty floaty dress because this morning she felt especially feminine. The breeze made it flap slightly and she was glad she had restrained her hair with a hair elastic so that it wouldn't knot. She was wearing flat sandals which could cope with the hot sand beneath her feet as she crossed the distance to the shore line.

Derek was back out on the water.

Jazz smiled at his friend's wife as she drew alongside him.

"Morning Mrs V."

"Hi Jazz! You stole my husband."

He laughed. "Sssh! People will get the wrong idea about me. How are you this morning? Sore?"

"Don't you start. Your girlfriend's just been putting me through the wringer over last night as it is."

"Can I see the ring?" Jazz asked. Casey obliged, holding up her left hand.

"Wow! He took forever choosing it. Is it camp of me to say that I was pissed because he made me hang around the freaking mall with him while he chose it and then he wouldn't let me see the thing?"

Casey laughed. "Yes!"

Jazz laughed and pulled her close for a hug. "Thanks for the dinner last night. We had fun."

"I know. Penny can't walk straight either."

Jazz's eyes widened. "Oh no! Now she talks like him as well!"

"Hey. Unhand my wife!" A not very irate voice said and they both turned to watch a very wet Derek emerge from the surf.

"I was just sharing the delight which Penny and I feel over the fact that you two _finally_ got your shit together."

Derek rolled his eyes. "You sound like my grandmother. Get your hairy ass back out there and show those morons how to surf…dude!" He said, taking the towel which Casey had picked up and rubbing the worst of the water from his hair and body. Then he grabbed for Casey.

"Uh uh. Dry off a bit more first. You're too wet."  
"Ah. But if I dropped you in the sea again, we'll both be wet."

"And I'll be mad. Sleeping on the couch mad."

Derek grunted and Casey laughed, leaning across to carefully place a chaste kiss on his lips.

"You can maul me later." She promised.

He grinned at her. "Fully intend to." They sat down on the beach chairs the guys had brought with them and Derek picked up Casey's hand, linking the fingers with his own.

"How did you sleep?" He asked, raising their joined hands and kissing her fingers.

"Well. You?"

"Pretty good. I got a good amount of sleep considering…"

Casey blushed.

"Penny says we were noisy." She admitted.

"She's winding you up. She has no idea. She and Jazz spend most of the night on the beach."

Casey looked at him in surprise. "How do you know?"  
"He's been complaining about the sand getting _everywhere_!"

They chuckled.

"You look beautiful, princess." Derek said, honestly. "Although I prefer the way you looked this morning when I woke up."

"Oh?"

"All bed hair and nakedness." He smirked. "Sort of like I always pictured my wife would look."

Casey laughed and Derek wanted to kiss her for it. So he did.

.

They sat on the beach watching the others for a long while, just talking and enjoying each other's company. When Penny emerged from the house to join them, Derek left Casey to go back into the water.

"Just when you thought it was safe to swim in the sea." Casey murmured. Penny giggled.

"So what are we going to do tonight?" she asked. "Carl and Mel should probably have a lovers tiff…it's their turn."

"Ew!"

"Yeah. I'm thinking they probably feel that too. How about karaoke?"  
"That depends."

"On what?"  
"On how much you value your hearing." Casey said. "Derek has a certain singing style."  
"Meaning?"  
"Meaning if we go to karaoke I'm wearing my earplugs." Jazz interjected as he prepared to run back in. "I had enough of the ol' crooner the night before last."

Penny shrugged. "Okay. But I was thinking I could do my Lady Gaga routine…" she said suggestively.

Jazz raised his eyebrows. "And wear that little satin number?"  
"RIGHT!" Casey announced loudly to drown out the images in her brain. "Who wants lunch!"

"Tequila?" Jazz asked Casey and Derek above the music in the bar. Both of them pulled faces. "I guess not." He chuckled and produced four bottles of Bud from behind his back. "Better?"

Penny smiled. "Much."

Jazz sat down at the table beside her. "Hey Casey! Giles is at the bar, looking to – and I quote – "score some hot totty with big mambas and no scruples". His girlfriend and two friends stared at him. "Yes. I'm serious. I overheard him talking to a friend of his."

Derek snorted. "Ass-wad."

"Me or him?"

Derek grinned. "Now that is the question isn't it?"

He stroked Casey' s shoulder with his thumb and squeezed her closer to him. Casey had thought their relationship was tactile before they came to Florida, now she realised just how much Derek had been holding back. He touched her all the time. She turned her head to kiss him.

Penny and Jazz looked at each other and grinned as their friends kissed.

"Aw!" Penny said. "Why don't you kiss me like that?"  
"I do!" Jazz protested and leaned forward to demonstrate.

.

It was a good evening, definitely an evening among friends. Even Mel and Carl appeared, surprisingly with the same girls they had met at the first party – which caused much eyebrow-raising amongst the other two couples. They all got up and sang at some point; even Derek – which was when Penny discovered that alcohol was almost as good as ear plugs.

The funniest point was when a drunken, horny Giles decided that the "hot totty" he wanted to take home was Casey. He blundered up to her while Derek was in the little boys' room and sat down in her absent husband's chair. Penny who was also partner-less due to Jazz's conversation with the guy running the karaoke set-up, rolled her eyes and stood up. Casey flashed a warning glance asking Penny not to leave her as Giles' hand slipped onto her knee and he began murmuring something about leaving her "jerk of a husband" and getting some "real loving" and offering to take her for a ride in his new car. It can't have been murmured quietly enough because Penny grinned at Casey and winked before disappearing off to talk to Jazz – and Casey cursed her under her breath in terms she had recently learnt from Derek.

Giles continued his pawing action on Casey's knee.

Penny came back.

"Hey! Casey! Jazz says they're ready for us."

Casey frowned.

"Aw! No backing out now…come on!" And Penny grabbed Casey's hand and pulled her to her feet, jerking Giles' hand away from her.

"Sorry Giles." Penny said, sounding anything but. "Karaoke duty calls."

Giles nodded reluctantly. "Sing one for me, babe!"

Penny smiled sweetly. "Oh she will, _babe_."

Casey and Penny made their way to the little stage, the former hissing something loudly.

When she had the microphone in her hand and turned back to face the audience and Giles however, Casey was grinning.

"This one's for you, Giles!" Casey announced into the microphone, just as Derek returned. And then Casey, backed up by Penny sang Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much."

Casey was always good on stage, and as she sang Derek noted, she managed to make it abundantly clear what she thought of Giles to just about every woman in the joint. Casey's husband thought Giles would be very lucky if he went home with the cleaner tonight never mind the totty with the big mambas!

He definitely wouldn't be going home with Derek's wife.


	47. Return of the Mac

It was raining when they landed in New York; an abrupt return to real life. The past week had been magical for all of them. Penny and Jazz had become closer and were basically inseparable. Mel and Carl had, against the odds, met just one girl each and had even given them their _real_ cell numbers and email addresses.

And Derek and Casey? They felt like they had been on their honeymoon, and being honest – they had; Except of course it was a week of honey rather than a month, and even that week had started with an awkward forty eight hours.

As they sat in their yellow cab and sped towards their apartment, Derek smiled at Casey.

"Back to reality." He said. She nodded. "Nervous?" He added.

Casey shook her head. "No. I believe in this."

"Good. Because I have no intention of letting you go anywhere."

She grinned. "I know. We're going to make this work aren't we?"  
"Or die trying." Derek promised. "No matter what the world throws at us."

"Agreed." Casey replied letting him kiss her.

Which was good, because when they got home, Mac paid them a visit.

* * *

The cab pulled up outside their apartment, and Derek unloaded the bags and paid the driver. Casey started to pick up her pink suitcase and smaller carry on, but Derek gently knocked her hand out of the way and took hold of the suitcase in the hand which wasn't holding his own.

They reached their apartment and let themselves in, Derek dropping the cases just inside the door and collapsing on the couch. Casey grinned and then shrieked as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.

"Home Sweet Home." He said between kisses.

"Our home!" Casey murmured back.

"Fancy christening the bed?" Derek asked. Casey laughed.

"Predictable, Derek. You'll have to wait, I want to put the laundry on and then we need to go to the store for food."

"All of that can wait until tomorrow…" He said, trapping her in his arms as she tried to get up. "I want you now."

"Der-ek!" Casey protested, but even she would admit, the protestations were pretty weak. It was as though someone had flicked a switch in Casey's mind and body which had been off for twenty one years. She liked sex, just as much as Derek, which was saying something.

"Come on, princess." Derek pleaded, his fingers making quick work of Casey's clothes. "This is our home. We've been married for five months and that bed has only seen some PG-13 fumbling. We need hot and heavy porn action."

"What sort of PG-13s have you been watching?" Casey snorted, reminding him of some of the more _interesting_ memories of the latter stages of their pre-honeymoon marriage; memories which did nothing to cool him down.

"Come on, Case." He said, in an overtly seductive voice. "You never normally turn me down. Are you going off me? Because if you are, I need to remind you of some of my more appealing habits…right now."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

"Well if you'd let me get you in the bedroom, I'd show you." Derek's hands were wandering, and Casey caved.

"It would have to be quick." She whispered against his ear.

"Quick no. But I promise to make the best use of the time available." He said and caught her mouth in a heavy kiss which melted her legs, and made it necessary for Derek to carry her to the bedroom.

He was just in the process of doing exactly that when there was a thumping noise at the front door.

"Ignore it." Casey said.

"I intend to." Derek replied.

"Derek! It's Mac!" A voice called through the door.

"Fuck!" The Venturis chorused. Derek put Casey down and made for the front door.

"One sec!" Casey hissed in a panic. Derek looked back and noted with amusement that she was hastily clipping her bra back on and buttoning clothes. He glanced down at his own attire and satisfied that he was decent stepped to the door. With a final glance at his wife to make sure she was also fully clothed, he opened the door.

Mac didn't waste time waiting to be asked in.

"What took you so long to answer?" He asked, bluntly.

"I was about to make love to my wife, we weren't decent." Derek answered truthfully.

"Ha ha!" Mac said, taking Derek's words as a joke and then when he saw neither Derek nor Casey was laughing he coughed and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh."

"What's up?" Derek prompted, cutting through the inevitable questions.

"Stefan's dead." Mac said unceremoniously. "It's all over."

Dazed, Casey and Derek made their way to the couch and sat down.

"How?" Derek asked when his mind was working again.

"He went to a back street doctor when his bullet wounds became infected, the doctor ratted him out to some friends of Rosemary's. He didn't last another hour."

"Rosemary killed him?" Casey asked in a small voice.

"No. I gather she's pissed at the guy who did, as well. Their orders were to return him to Rosemary for questioning. He flinched at the wrong time and the gorillas were trigger happy. They dumped his body on the doorstep of my office."

"Nice." Derek said, but there was no enthusiasm in his words.

"Anyway, that was the day you left. Rosemary got in touch and said to verify it for ourselves but that as far as she had been able to find out there was no further danger. We've done our own investigations and come to the same conclusion. It's safe to go home."  
There was silence for a long time. After several minutes, Mac coughed.

"Not that I expected rousing cheers or anything but, guys, did you hear me? You can go home. See your family."

"We heard you." Derek said, looking with concern at Casey. He held out his hand and she took it.

"So what we need to do now is discuss your return home." Mac started. "We're aiming to fly you back to Canada tomorrow. You can stay with your family for a couple of weeks and then we'll sort out getting your stuff shipped back home. You might want to start packing."

Casey shook her head. "Mac, wait! It can't work like that."

Mac looked surprised. Casey sat forward in her seat.

"For a start, even if we go home, it can only be for a week and then we have to be back. Derek and I are due to start our intern placements." She took a deep breath. "And I need to know something. Are they still planning our divorce?"

Mac frowned and nodded. He watched how Casey looked to Derek and her husband slipped an arm around her and kissed her head. Mac sat down on the nearby armchair.

"Mac." Derek said. "I need you to do me a favour. I need you to find us somewhere to stay in London, other than the Venturi house."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because Casey and I aren't planning on divorcing any time soon, and I doubt very much that our parents are going to let us sleep in the same room."

Casey glanced up. "We don't have to share a room." She said softly.

"I think we do." He held a hand up when she started protesting. "Casey, we need them to know that we are serious about this. If they get us sleeping apart on the first day home they will never accept that you're my wife. The divorce is their way of pretending it didn't happen."  
Casey knew he was right, and so did Mac.

"I'll see what I can do."

"I can't afford to pay for it, Mac. I didn't know this was going to happen so soon or else I wouldn't have paid for the vacation."

"Leave it with me." Mac said. "Bob warned me about your parents' plans for the divorce. Nora isn't very happy at all that you two got married. When you get home, after the dust has settled, I expect she will treat you to a long lecture on irresponsibility."

"We weren't being irresponsible!" Casey protested. "We _aren't_ being irresponsible. We're adults! We know the risks and possibilities."

Mac sighed. "Casey, you will never be an adult in the eyes of your parents. No mother ever gets used to their child growing up. Try and see Nora's point of view. I'm not saying she is right, I'm just saying her feelings are understandable. For whatever justification, her daughter went off in her college years and got married in Las Vegas."

"But she knows Derek. It's not like I married a complete stranger."  
Derek snorted. "I bet that's part of the problem. She knows all my quirks already."

"I'm just saying you are right to be concerned about how your parents have taken your marriage." He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "You don't want to divorce?"

Derek shook his head. "Weird though this is, the marriage is working." He smiled at Casey and she rested her head against his shoulder. "I don't see the point in getting divorced until a relationship is irreparably broken down."

"And it definitely isn't." Casey said.

Mac stood up. "So the plan from your point of view is to carry on as you were with regard to college and the internship, so you'll need to keep this apartment. And you want to go home and see everyone for a few days, but you need to stay somewhere else?"

They nodded their agreement.

"Okay." Mac said. "Pack for a few days and someone will pick you up in the morning. I'll sort the other stuff out. Do you want Bob to warn your parents about your relationship?"  
"No." Derek sighed why he had suddenly turned 40 and become _responsible._ "I guess we need to break it to them ourselves."

* * *

After Mac left, Casey threw herself into domestic chores and Derek out the door to go to the grocery store. Although they would be in the apartment less than twenty four hours they hadn't even got a fresh carton of milk in the fridge.

Once he was out of sight, she sat on the end of the bed and cried.

It wasn't that this was expected, she just felt as though she wasn't allowed to be happy; that she wasn't supposed to enjoy the fact that she had found the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was good, kind and just lately, remarkably considerate. What more could a mother want for her daughter?

Apparently, the answer was not Derek.

She lay back on the bed, sighing as she gazed up at the ceiling. It was cracked and yellowed from age, and its hard painted surface was a complete contrast to the canopy they had gazed at above their heads for the past week. She began to wonder if the ceiling was a metaphor for their marriage.

Something rustled as she moved her head and she turned to see that she was lying on a piece of paper. She fished it out and opened it.

_Quit worrying at it Sweetheart. WE will deal with it. ILY DX_

She smiled. Typical Derek! He knew her better than she knew herself – and _that_, she reminded her conscience was why she knew her mother was wrong.

.

They slept together in their bed that night, but though Casey had expected Derek to initiate something physical between them, he had read her mind and shaken his head.

"Tonight, I just want to hold you." He said. "We have the rest of our lives for sex."

And she drifted off to the very unromantic snores in her ears which she loved all the same.

Derek must be getting a cold.

* * *

**AN: The course of true love doth never run smooth. This was never going be a story about them just getting together and having sex; because marriage isn't like that. Likewise I'm not going to drag this out, but there is a little way to go yet. The first hurdle was learning how to trust each other and be together. The next hurdle is convincing the people they love that it is the right thing to do. **


	48. London

They made the journey to London largely in silence. It wasn't that they weren't talking. They just didn't know what to say to each other, because all they could think about was their family's reaction to their marriage. Casey never let go of Derek's hand, and his thumb traced a pattern on the back of hers.

It was Bob who met them at Toronto airport. He kissed Casey on the cheek and shook Derek's hand. Then he turned and led them to his waiting car.

"So I'm taking you straight to George's house now and you'll spend the day there until someone comes to pick you up this evening. They'll explain where you are going etc."

"Okay." Derek answered for both of them. "How is everyone?"  
"They seem fine. Excited to see both of you again."

"Really?" Casey seemed unsure of that fact. Bob nodded, his eyes fixed onto the road ahead.

"Of course. They are your family after all and they've missed you." Bob grinned at her in the rear view mirror. "I'm not saying it's all going to be plain-sailing but they are excited about you coming home."

"How's Lizzie?" Derek asked, trying not to think about what lay ahead.

"She's doing well. Her speech is a little slow when she is tired and she sleeps a lot because her muscles are still gaining strength but otherwise she is doing okay. Edwin's taken on the role of bodyguard and chief worrier. He won't let anyone within two metres of her, and he won't let Lizzie out of his sight."

Casey smiled to herself, remembering the way Lizzie had pocketed Edwin's letters at the hospital. She wasn't convinced that something was going on between them…yet, but they were evidently reliant on each other right now. Her own best friend was continuing to talk quietly to his godfather and she closed her eyes listening to their conversation.

.

Casey opened her eyes abruptly when she felt the car stop. She must have dozed off because they were now pulled up in front of the McDonald-Venturi residence and part of her was very grateful that she had not had to deal with the fear she was currently dealing with two hours ago when they left the airport.

Derek helped her from the car, squeezing her hand and whispering "We're home, princess." Then he moved around to the trunk to remove their bags, Casey took two of the smaller bags from him and they started up the short steep path.

Almost immediately, the front door crashed open and a whirlwind swept down the path towards them, embedding itself in Derek's chest.

"Smerek!" The whirlwind cried, and Casey felt laughter and tears spring up as she recognised the tiny tornado as her little step-sister, Marti.

"Smarts!" Casey's husband cried, dropping the bags, scooping his favourite sibling into his arms and hugging her till she fought for her breath. "I've missed you so much!" He said, kissing her head.

"I missed you too, Derek." Marti said seriously. "You were gone so long."

Her face was sober and unhappy, and then it cleared and became full of joy. "But you're back!" She exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek and wriggling from his grip. "And you brought Smasey!"

Derek chuckled. "Yeah I brought Smasey."

Casey set her bags down at her feet as Marti pounced at her. The two girls hugged and Marti bent her mouth to Casey's ear.

"Are you really a Venturi?" She asked. Casey pulled back and nodded.

"I'm really a Venturi."

"Are you really Derek's princess?"  
Casey shrugged and glanced at Derek who nodded. Marti squealed, jumping from her arms and dashing back up the path, calling for Lizzie.

Confused, and surprised at the reaction, Casey picked up her bags and made to follow the little girl, but tripped over the bags Derek had put down.

After helping her up and checking she was okay, Derek grinned.

"I don't know about my princess, but it would appear you're still my Klutzilla." He teased gently. She rolled her eyes at him, but there was a smile on her lips.

By the time they made it into the house, the entire family was waiting for them in the family room. Casey and Derek stood in the doorway gazing at the collected McDonald-Venturis, and the rest of the family gazed back at them.

Marti was still giggling about her brother and her step-sister being home again – and married - although she never spoke the words. Edwin, beside Lizzie was beaming at the sight of his brother, and the older step-sister who had scared the life out of him when he first met her. He was relieved she was back because Lizzie fretted about her constantly.

Next to him, Lizzie smiled at Casey and looked up at Derek. They looked the same as she remembered them, she thought, only different; the same in looks but with extra wisdom and caution in their eyes. And they were standing closer than she would normally expect, as though they were more comfortable with each other than before. Lizzie had overheard the conversations between her three parents, the two biological, and the one step. She knew that they had suspicions of the relationship between the young couple in front of them. Lizzie knew that Derek had married Casey to protect her and looking at them now, she could see that the protective side of Derek, which had always been there in regard to Casey, was now dominant. He was hovering.

George and Nora noticed the close-proximity of their eldest children too. Nora looked up into Casey's eyes and saw a maturity which both impressed and scared her with its worldliness. George looked at Derek and saw a husband guarding his wife.

Both parents glanced at each other, their lips firmly closed against the questions they knew they needed to ask.

On their part, Derek and Casey saw the family members they loved before them, the same because they had been gone only five months, but different because it had been a difficult five months for all the family members. Casey who had seen some of them a shorter period of time ago was pleased to see that Lizzie looked much recovered and stronger, and that her mother looked slightly more relaxed than she had in the hospital. But there was still a tension about their parents, and Casey was mature enough to understand that tension's source.

Unconsciously, she took a step closer to Derek.

For a moment or two, all they did was watch, and then the status quo was broken by the sudden appearance of Robbie, peaking out from under the dining table.

"Momma. I pooed." He sing-songed.

* * *

Lizzie was grateful for her little brother's digestive system. His timely comment had diffused the tense situation, making the whole family laugh and giving Nora something to think about other than the fact her step-son had just brought her daughter home as his wife. Nora chuckled.

"Well we'd best go do something about that diaper then." She announced, getting up from the sofa and pulling the little boy out from under the dining table. "The sooner we get you out of diapers for your afternoon naps the better."

George stepped forward and pulled Casey into his arms for a hug.

"Welcome home Casey." He said softly planting a fatherly kiss in her hair. "We've all missed you two."  
"We missed you too, George." Casey said, speaking for Derek and herself without thinking. George released her and reached to Derek for a more paternal hug as Casey moved over to the sofa to kiss Lizzie.

Soon the whole room was a mass of hugs and a few tears, and then the little boy who had broken the tension returned, clean and full of energy like a little ball of lightning.

Nora followed him and took her turn hugging Casey and Derek. She squeezed each of them tightly and whispered "I missed you."

The noise levels rose as each member of the household started to talk at once. Everyone seemed to have something to say to the new arrivals or something to show them. Derek stacked the bags in the hall by the door ready for later when they would leave. George made to move them but Derek stopped him shaking his head.

"Later Dad." George thought his son meant they would move them later. Derek meant they would talk.

* * *

For the next three hours, Derek hardly saw Casey as they were both shepherded around the house catching up with the different members and all the news. It was strange to be back in this house. The last time they had been there, Lizzie had been in a coma and no one knew if she would live. The last time they had been there was when Derek asked Casey to marry him so that she would be safe. The last time they had been there Casey Venturi had been Casey McDonald, and they had planned one of the biggest secrets they had ever kept from their parents.

At dinnertime, they took their usual places at the dining table and Derek was relieved to see that it had been Nora who cooked, placing a rich-smelling lasagne on the table with a large platter of garlic bread and a bowl of salad. The family tucked in and for the first time since he had brought his wife home, the house became silent as they all ate.

It felt like one of the admittedly rare times in the family history when Derek and Casey had been on a truce. They didn't bicker at the table, instead joining in with the conversation and not really addressing each other. They asked questions of the younger children about school and their hobbies, and in turn they were quizzed about New York and college, and their recent trip to Florida.

The large elephant in the corner of the room was quiet for a while – until Marti grew curious.

"Can I see your ring?" She asked Casey. "Oh! You have two. Is one an engagement ring?"

Casey stopped eating and glanced at her mom. Then cautiously, she held out her hand so that Marti could see the wedding band and engagement ring Derek had bought. She took a deep breath. They had discussed this briefly on the plane and decided to go with honesty.

"The other ring is a bit like an engagement ring." Casey admitted. "Derek gave it to me in Florida."

Derek watched his parents process the announcement, and decided to support his wife.

"I got it to promise Casey that one day you'll get a chance to be a proper bridesmaid." He said, knowing that there was no such thing as a good way to tell George and Nora that the marriage was real. Their body language told him that they got the message loud and clear.

"OOOhhh!" Marti squealed. "You mean I'll get to see you get married after all?"

Derek shrugged. "Something like that." He said locking eyes with his wife. She had pulled her hand back and brought it into her lap where he had no doubt it was wringing its companion hand.

Nora took a sip of water. "Marti. Finish eating please." She said tersely, but she didn't comment further.

The tension was back in the room and Edwin didn't know where to look. Trying desperately to take the heat out of the situation, he wracked his brain to think of some news to share with Casey and Derek. Then he remembered the juicy bit of gossip he had heard just the day before.

"Oo! I just remembered, I saw Max yesterday when I was at the mall."

Casey turned with interest to her younger step-brother. "Really? How was he?" The interest was born out of the same desperate need that Edwin had to cut through the tension her early marriage had caused.

"He looked good. He was with that cheerleader girl he used to date before and after he dated you."

"Amy?"

"That's the name!" Edwin said delighted with himself as the tension eased. "Anyway, he even spoke to me for a couple of minutes."

"What did he say?"

Edwin grinned "He was a bit embarrassed at the start, but I think that was because of the aisle we were in; baby clothes and so on. Eventually, he admitted that Amy is pregnant and they are getting married in a few weeks time. He had to drop out of college."

Casey sprayed the drink she was sipping across the table and Nora made a horrible gagging noise until Derek thumped her on the back.

Which was about the time that Edwin realised that it probably hadn't been the best bit of gossip to share.

"Nice one, Ed." Derek murmured under his breath. "Haven't lost the ol' open-mouth-insert-foot touch I see."

Edwin, now puce, coughed and busied himself eating his lasagne. He never looked up again.

Lizzie took a breath. "So are you moving back to Canada now?" She asked Casey, figuring that Edwin had already got all the awkward stuff on the table, in for a penny… Casey shook her head.

"We've got to go back to New York. We start really good internships next week. They are with a sister paper to the New York Times and we would be stupid to pass them up. They would look good as part of my application for the longer internships at the Times after I graduate. Plus, I don't think I have the energy or the inclination to change courses and colleges again. I'm going to finish my studies at NYU and then who knows. But at least I know that I can come home whenever I want to see you guys now."

Nora reached for a piece of garlic bread. "Oh. So you aren't planning on being a housewife then." She said with uncharacteristic sharpness. All eyes at the table turned to look at her. She shrugged.

"Casey is a _married_ woman now. _Married _women have to put their careers second."  
Even George looked astonished at what his wife was saying because he knew she didn't believe that.

Casey put down her knife and fork. "You don't believe that mom and neither do I."  
Nora sighed dramatically. "Oh I know. When you get married you plan on having it all, career, home, and husband. But something always gives."

"I'm twenty one, mom. I'm barely starting out in life. Nothing has changed. I'm just married."

"You've remembered how old you are? That is a surprise!" Nora said, looking pointedly at her daughter. Derek put a hand on his mother-in-law's arm.

"Nora. That's not fair."

George coughed from the other end of the table. "Nora. I think that maybe we should talk about this later, when there are fewer sets of ears."

"Thank you." Casey mouthed to him.

"We _will_ talk about it though." George said firmly.

Casey looked across at Derek and he looked back at her.


	49. Court

First it had been Lizzie, the girl she thought of as her _first _sister. Then it had been Marti, her _second_ sister, and finally it had been Robbie, her _brother_. Over the years Casey had become used to looking after the smaller members of the household. Derek and Edwin didn't count. Of course, Derek was older than her, and she didn't think of him as a sibling. Lizzie had been independent of Casey by the time they moved into the Venturi home, and Casey had never needed to "look after" Edwin in anyway other than shouting up the stairs to him that it was time for _lights out_.

But, Marti and Robbie were different. They were in some ways a taste of the future; a small glimpse of what motherhood would be like in a few years. Casey had first thought that aged fifteen, the first time she had been charged with putting Marti to bed. It was reawakened aged eighteen when Robbie joined the family and she changed her first diaper and handled her first bath. Never, had it come home to her more than tonight, however, as she helped put older Robbie to bed.

She had run his bath, the way she did every time she came home from college, "supervised" the brushing of baby teeth and helped him into pyjamas. As she handed him to Derek for story time, she felt her mind flash forward to the future when she handed her own child to its father to be settled.

This time, she knew who the father would be.

Casey wasn't going to be a stay-at-home mom. She was going to have a career, and achieve things – marriage wouldn't change that, no matter what her mother thought. But, as she stood in the doorway and listened to her husband read "The Monkey with the Bright Blue Bottom" to Robbie, she smiled and part of her longed for the future they had promised to each other.

Derek said goodnight to the youngest Venturi and flicked off the main light, and then he joined his wife outside the room.

"What are you grinning at?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb the little boy in the room beyond.

"You. You're a born father, Derek."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Bit early for that discussion isn't it? Or is there something you aren't telling me?" Casey's eyes widened.

"What? No!" she blushed and he chuckled.

"In time." He promised, catching her waist and kissing her.

Casey accepted the kiss with a grin of her own. "I'm looking forward to it."

Derek smirked. "In the meantime, we'll just practice."

"Der-ek!" She protested quietly. He glanced around to make sure there were no prying eyes and leaned into her for a deeper kiss. Casey sighed against him.

"This isn't going to be pleasant, is it?"

"I really hope you aren't talking about my kissing you."

"You know what I mean." She said, leaning back.

Derek sighed. "Yes. I do know. And no it probably isn't." He pecked her on the lips again and was just about to move to the stairs when Robbie called Casey.

"Go on." Casey said to Derek. "I'll go settle him and then come down."

Derek went to face the music on his own.

* * *

Only George and Nora were in the living room. The others had been encouraged to go visit friends or go to their rooms. There was nothing subtle about the fact that this was going to be a frank exchanging of views. As Derek came down the stairs he saw his parents sitting at the cleared dining table, a brown manilla envelope in front of them and he felt fifteen again, about to be hauled over the coals for the latest prank and its resulting detention.

He reached the small level at the bottom of the stairs and stopped, knowing that standing there would give him a slight height advantage.

"Casey is just settling Robbie." He started. "And although I know you have plenty to say to us, I just want to say something to you before she gets down here."

George and Nora nodded for him to continue.

He sighed and stepped down and closer to the table.

"I've made some seriously bad errors in my time, played some really stupid pranks, done stupid things. But when I did them, I knew that it was a bad idea – I just weighed up the risk at the time and decided to run with it. And I'm sure that in your minds, you would lump my decision to marry Casey in with that. But you need to know, that even when the only reason I did it was to keep her safe, no matter what I said or did, it never felt like one of those other times.

I know it's hard not to judge us for the decision we've made…hell, if I was on the outside looking in I'd be the first to judge. But, when you do judge, I want you to forget about the two teenagers you knew and start thinking about two college-educated adults. It wasn't the teenagers who got married, and it wasn't the two teenagers who fell for each other in the process. It was two adults, who knew what they were doing.

Casey has never made a major decision without thinking long and hard about it. – And believe me when I say, she thought about it at length. She thought, and we discussed all the pitfalls and hazards, all the arguments and disagreements, and all the issues it would raise. Do you know what she is most frightened of? That you'll stop us from seeing the younger kids because you think we're a bad influence."

Derek held the back of a chair. "If you tell her that and ask her to choose, she'll choose you and the kids." He admitted. "Because her family has always come first. But, I'm asking you, no _screw_ that. I'm begging you. Don't make her choose. I married Casey because I cared about her, but I'm still with her because I _love_ her."

He paused, wondering what else he could say that would convince him, but in his heart he knew that there was nothing. Sometimes, less is more.

"Your track record with love is hardly stellar, Derek." George said simply.

"That wasn't love, Dad. That was teenage hormones. _This_ is different." He held up his left hand, back facing George and Nora, and they were surprised to see that he too was wearing a wedding ring. Not every married man likes wearing a wedding ring, relying on their wives to show their marital status with _their_ ring. But Derek was wearing one, and if they looked closely enough, they would be able to tell that he had been wearing it from the start, because it matched Casey's and his skin was already paler below the band.

Before anyone could say anything further, they could hear Casey crossing the landing and Derek pulled out the dining chair and sat down. Moments later, Casey was sitting beside him.

"Did Robbie go down okay?" Nora asked her daughter. Casey nodded and under the table, Derek took her hand.

George slid the manilla envelope across the table.

"What's that?" Derek asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

"Your divorce papers." His father answered.

There was silence.

Casey's grip tightened on Derek's hand. "We don't need them." She surprised Derek by saying. It wasn't that he thought she would want a divorce, but he had assumed he was going to be the one fighting for their corner.

George sighed. "I gathered as much. Okay. I think you two need to explain exactly what has gone on since the last time you were both here."

So Casey gave them a basic break-down of the past five months - minus the sex and a few other choice incidents - and afterwards the silence returned.

"Say something." Casey pleaded.

Nora took a deep breath. "What do you want me to say, Casey? Congratulations?" Her tone, resigned and despairing told Casey it would be a cold day in hell before that was going to happen.

"Of course not." Casey said. "But some degree of understanding would be nice."

"And impossible." Nora replied. "Casey. I have one feeling and one feeling only, and that, I'm afraid, is disappointment. I'm so proud of the way you've handled your life so far, the steps you've taken, the choices you've made: good grades, a great college, and even when the attack on Lizzie happened, you handled everything so well. I worried so much about what you were going through in New York: a change in college and course, the dropping of your dancing and other interests, settling into a life without support – and all the while dealing with a death threat hanging over your head. And then you go and throw it all out of the window by doing some thing as stupid as marrying at twenty. What about your dreams and career goals? What about your qualifications and your flexibility to do your own thing?"

"Mom, my goals and dreams are just that, _mine_. And they are things to aspire to, not set in stone. And they haven't changed. But, regardless of that, why should having a wedding ring on my finger limit what I am capable of? Derek's not a caveman. He doesn't expect a stay-at-home wife. He wants me to succeed."

Derek grinned. "I'm too lazy to be the sole breadwinner." He said. Casey smiled at him and let him kiss her fingers.

"The last five months, he has been my support network. He has comforted me when I was lonely, protected me when I was in danger, and he has pushed me to keep going. He has been a true partner to me."

"I'm sure he's been great." George said. "But what about next month when a new blonde-haired beauty gets into town?"

Casey stared at her father-in-law. Then she swallowed and sat forward.

"George. You're a great dad, and normally a supportive one, and I know that Derek has pushed so many boundaries we might as well be living in Russia by now. But you also need to learn that people grow up. Do you seriously think that New York and Florida are empty of temptations? That Derek hasn't seen an attractive female in the past five months? Besides, who's to say that it would be him that was unfaithful? Maybe it will be me who finds someone else."

Derek looked at her with a kind of wild panic on his face. She smirked and under the table put a hand on his knee.

"A figure of speech, honey." She reassured him and felt his hand cover hers again.

"This is a mistake, Casey. And maybe it will last a few months or even a couple of years, but the odds are stacked against you."

"We stand a better chance of making it with a bit of parental support." Casey stated.

There was silence.

"I can't." Nora said eventually. George closed his eyes.

"You won't even acknowledge it?" Derek asked.

Nora's eyes flashed to his. "I don't have a choice do I? You're married. You're living as such."

"Are you going to cut us off?" Casey asked in a small voice.

Nora looked at her daughter and saw the hurt in her eyes, and the realisation of the truth of what Derek had said earlier hit her forcefully. Casey wasn't being rebellious. She was following her heart. The trouble was, Nora had done that once, and though it had given her two beautiful daughters, there had been heart-break too. And she couldn't wish that on Casey.

"You're my daughter, Casey. I love you. I love both of you and I always will. I nearly lost Lizzie and I can't lose you." She took a deep breath. "The marriage is a mistake. But, when it all falls to pieces, you'll both need your family. I can't take that away from you. You're still a part of this family."  
Casey had tears in her eyes when she stood up.

"You can't even trust me, can you?"  
"You're a romantic, Casey. I used to be once. Now I'm just a realist."

Her daughter turned to Derek. "I'm tired. I need to go to bed."

"Sure." Derek said, standing up too.

George frowned. "We've put Casey downstairs and you in your normal room." He told his son. Derek looked at him with a stony face.

"You don't need to do that, Dad. We aren't staying here. You may find this hard to believe, but neither Casey nor I want to hurt anyone or rub faces in our business. We knew that Casey and I sharing a room would be difficult for you, so we've arranged to stay elsewhere. Someone from Bob's team will be picking us up shortly."

His father, whilst surprised, also looked grateful.

"Can we come back tomorrow and see everyone?" Casey asked her mother.

"On one condition." Nora said. "I want you to keep a lid on the PDA around your siblings. They know you are married but…" Nora's voice trailed away as she tried to finish the sentence. Derek stepped up to the mark.

"But no humping on the dining room table."

"Der-ek!" His wife admonished him.

Derek's smirk dropped. "We'll prove this to you both." He said. "Believe me. We'll prove it to you."

* * *

The air was still tense when Bob's agent arrived to take them to their bed for the night. Casey was too tired to ask where they would be staying but she heard Derek quiz the agent and the non-committal response to the question "Safe house?"

"Not exactly."

If they had been travelling any longer, Casey would have fallen asleep, but instead, they had been travelling for just five minutes when the car drew up in front of a decent-sized family home in a neighbouring district to that of their own.

The agent unloaded the bags from the trunk and carried one of the suitcases to the front door, and in line with the down-graded protection, disappeared before they had even knocked.

"Get the feeling he isn't on overtime?" Derek asked his wife wryly. She chuckled sleepily. "How are you doing?" He asked her, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"It could have been worse." She said.

"Yes it could."

"I wouldn't have given in." Casey said suddenly. "I know that you think that, but you would have been wrong. I'm stubborn Derek. Especially around you."

And with that she reached up to ring the doorbell of the kind person who was prepared to put up two unwanted newly-weds. This was a person who didn't care that they were step-brother and sister, that didn't care that their parents weren't overly impressed. This was a person who wanted to put a roof over their heads.

This was a tiny flicker of hope.

Then the front door opened.

"Dad?" Casey said in amazement as her father opened the door. He winked at her.

"Mr and Mrs Venturi, I presume." He said with a twinkle.

And the tiny flicker of hope swelled.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the delay. Monday was a "Bank holiday" in the UK and therefore a public holiday, so I visited relatives...**


	50. Daddy's Little Girl

Previously:

_Then the front door opened._

"_Dad?" Casey said in amazement as her father opened the door. He winked at her._

"_Mr and Mrs Venturi, I presume." He said with a twinkle. _

_And the tiny flicker of hope swelled._

* * *

Casey was in shock, but she still managed to step forward into her father's arms. He held her tightly and kissed her head. Before she knew where she was she was in tears.

"Oh Daddy!" was all she could say. Dennis looked up over his daughter's head at Derek.

"Third degree?" He asked, questioning why Casey was suddenly so emotional. Derek shrugged.

"No more than we deserved." He said magnanimously. Dennis smiled.

"You're too young." He said. "But that's all _I'm_ going to say on the matter. I've learned my lesson. I'm hardly the person to tell anyone how to have a successful marriage. And although no father wants to think of his little girl _all grown up_, at least the bastard is married to her." He smirked at Derek who sort of recognised a kindred spirit. "But just so that we are on the same page, Venturi. You cheat on her or hurt her in any way and I'll…"  
Derek nodded. "Unnecessary, sir. It isn't going to happen." Dennis led them further into the house, motioning to Derek to dump their bags in the hall.

"Have you eaten?" Her father asked Casey who was now walking beside him, her arm around his waist.

"Yes."

"But I'm never one to turn down food." Derek butted in. Casey rolled her eyes. They reached the living room and saw a coffee table loaded with snacks, and beer. Derek decided he had the best father-in-law in Canada.

"Does Mom know we're here?" Casey asked as Derek sat down on the couch beside her, eyeing the food hungrily. Dennis shook his head.

"No. But she knows that I'm not as angry about the marriage as she is. We've had the frank exchange of views between us. Help yourself, Derek."

Derek pounced on the food, needing no further invitation. "I'm sorry." He said as he loaded the plate. "It's nervous energy." Dennis raised an eyebrow at the amount of food his new son-in-law was plating up and then turned to his daughter.

"Casey, your mom is just concerned because you've done something outside of your normal comfort zone. She's concerned because she knows the high ideals you have for yourself. And she's angry, for the same reason every mother would be…you've deprived her of the opportunity to interfere in your wedding plans." Dennis grinned. "You know how you kept a scrapbook of all your wedding plans since you were six?"

Casey blushed and glanced nervously at Derek. But he knew about the scrapbook. He had found it on day two of Casey's residency in the Venturi home, aged fifteen.

"Well, your mom had one too. Except she started collecting for her scrapbook of your wedding the day you arrived kicking and screaming into the world. She missed your wedding. No mother wants that."

"There's a DVD." Derek said through a mouthful of bread bun and filling.

Dennis laughed. "That won't cut it. Can I suggest you renew your vows at some point? The bigger the ceremony the better."

Casey nodded. "We are planning to do that anyway." She picked up a piece of cucumber from the table. "Why are you so laid back about it, Dad?"

"After the events of the past year, I've come to appreciate family…in all forms. Take your father…" He raised a hand towards Derek and then picked up a can of beer from the table. "…or should I say my new business partner." He grinned. "Who would have thought? What I'm saying is that we're all reasonable people who love the same things and the same people. So why fight?"

Casey smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."

Dennis beamed at her, knowing that for the first time in many years, he had done the right thing by his daughter – and without any prompting. As he mentally toasted himself with his beer, he noticed Derek looked at him, and he could feel the approval as warm as if he was sitting next to a heater. Not only was his daughter happy, but the person who made _her_ happy was pleased. Now if only he could get his ex-wife to understand…

As if reading his mind, the phone rang. Dennis took his beer into the kitchen and answered it. It was Nora.

"It's me." She said when he answered. He hid a grin. She had always started their calls like that, even when they first met. "Erm…I was just wondering if you had heard from Casey only they left here earlier not telling me where they were going and I'm worried about them."

"They're here." Dennis said simply. "I'm putting them in the annex out back."

"Oh." Nora said as if shocked. And then it was Dennis' turn to be surprised when she continued. "Thank you, Dennis. I know I'm struggling with this at the moment but I don't…_we_ don't want them to be on their own and friend-less."  
"I know. And I do understand, and so do Derek and Casey. But, I also think we have to credit them with a little sense. They really are trying."  
"I know. I just need time to get used to the idea. I just think of Derek as my own, so when he married my daughter…" She trailed away and then coughed. "And it's making me so suspicious. Now I'm looking at Edwin and Lizzie in a skewed way."  
Dennis sighed. "Nora. Let nature take its course. Que sera sera."

"Debbie Reynolds…Dennis? Is this your Carrie Fisher fixation surfacing again?"  
Dennis laughed.

"If this goes belly up, they'll really need us. Let's make sure we're still talking to them."

She sighed. "I know. You know I love them both…it's just…if it had been five years down the line…"

"You'd be saying the same things. Except maybe then Casey would have had a past as well as Derek. Nora, let's just love them enough to let them make their own mistakes."

"You sound like George. Now I know why you two get on so well."

Dennis bit his tongue to stop himself saying. _That and we love the same woman._ It wasn't that he still hoped for anything from Nora. But he had loved her once, and though that love had changed, he couldn't help the fact he felt he had let her down.

* * *

"The house has an annex." Dennis announced. "A sort of Granny Annex. It has a bedroom, den and tiny kitchen. It also has its own entrance. I bought the whole house in case Lizzie needed to have "purpose-built" accommodation after the accident but as she is clearly coping perfectly well, it seems the ideal place to put a pair of newly-weds."

He said this as they walked through the door to the internal door that connected to the annex.

"Of course you can come into my house, by prior arrangement, but I don't want you raiding my fridge." He said, looking pointedly at Derek who had the sense to look abashed. "This apartment is yours whenever you want to come back to London." Dennis told Casey and Derek. "Your mom now knows you are here."

Derek looked at the small living room with its integral kitchen and the separate bedroom and bathroom. It had been tastefully decorated in neutral colours and although about the same size, it far surpassed their New York apartment.

"Thanks, Mr McDonald." Derek said and he meant it. Dennis chuckled.

"Nice…creep up to the old man." He said. "But it's Dennis and I'll know you are up to something if you call me anything else."  
Derek grinned back.

"I'm going to bed." Dennis announced. "Why don't you do the same? Oh and in a round about way that brings me to my final comment on your marriage." He looked every inch the lawyer as he spoke. "What you two get up to in here is between a husband and his wife, that goes without saying, but, this place isn't big enough for a second bedroom, so maybe you should wait till you can afford a place of your own before you make me a grandfather."

And with that he was gone.

Casey had never loved her father more…even when he made embarrassing comments like that!

* * *

They went to bed that night totally worn out. It was like the early days of their marriage holding onto each other in the dark, trying to process the day's events. Casey missed the closeness of Derek's body when they had sex, but if that wasn't going to happen, sleeping with his arms around hers was a decent substitute. They hardly said anything to each other, too exhausted to do conversation justice.

"Talk in the morning?" Derek asked when the light was out and Casey had found her normal niche tucked into his side. His wife sighed but it sounded more like a worn-out yawn.

"Please. I love you and believe me, if anyone could get me to have sex tonight it would be you, but it isn't going to happen."

He kissed the top of her head. "Thought never crossed my mind."

"Yeah…right." Casey said disbelieving.

"Okay. So maybe there was a moment's thought when you started stripping…it didn't last."

"I bet I could make it."

"I bet you could too. But I agree, not tonight, sweetheart."

Casey turned her face up to his and they kissed for a moment.

"I love you princess." He said softly.

"I know." Casey said smugly…and then relented. "I love you too, jerk."

She giggled sleepily against his neck.

* * *

Nora went to check on Lizzie before bed. She couldn't help it. She had needed to do it every night since the attack. It erked Lizzie slightly, but she understood why her mother did it. So now, the younger woman had taken to reading for a little while before she switched her light out, so that her mother was reassured. For a long time after she left hospital, Lizzie had been unable to pick up a book for any length of time. Now she could quite happily read a couple of chapters before bed, and she found doing so stopped the nightmares.

Lizzie didn't dream of monsters or fires. She dreamt of the sensation of endlessly falling through space.

Tonight, she found concentrating on reading more difficult than normal. It had nothing to do with the damage her brain has sustained with its direct hit on to hard stone steps, and everything to do with her elder sister, and her new brother-in-law.

Lizzie loved Casey. The shared trauma of the breakdown of their parents' marriage had brought them closer in a way sisters ought to be but rarely are. They didn't paint each other's nails regularly or go to the mall together, but they had each other's backs. Since they had lived with the Venturis, Lizzie had continued to feel the occasional irritation of Casey taking her for granted, but she selflessly saw her own faults and the two girls rarely argued. Lizzie cared about Derek too, in a rather awe-stricken way. He was someone to be in awe of, dynamic, dominant, persuasive. And as Edwin's best friend she did occasionally take issue with the way he treated his younger brother; coupled with that and the way he treated Casey at times… But then there was the way he treated Marti and Robbie, and some of the incidents where he had helped Lizzie and even Nora out. Lizzie accepted, Derek was a complex creature, yet she totally understood what Casey saw in him.

Which was why she was planning on talking to her mother tonight.

.

Nora tapped gently on Lizzie's door. "Sorry. Just the usual nightly obsessive mother visit." She said by way of explanation.

"I'm fine mom. I've been reading again."

"No more headaches?"

"Nope. I think it was just the heat. It felt like my normal heat headaches."

"Okay." Nora nodded, and made to leave.

"Mom?"

"Lizzie."

"Did Casey and Derek leave?"

Nora sat down on the bed. "Yes."

Lizzie sat up suddenly. "What did you say to them?"  
"We talked about the decision they've made and how George and I feel about it."

"What decision have they made?"

"They are staying married."

Despite herself, and despite the way she knew her mother viewed the situation, Lizzie felt a little flip of joy.

"You didn't run them off did you?" She asked with a new bluntness that was born of the recent trauma in New York.

Nora looked weary. "No. I'm not happy about it and I made that clear, but they know they are still welcome here. They'll be back tomorrow."

"Good." Lizzie put a hand on her mom's arm. "It'll be okay mom. They're an explosive combination, but they've always been a double act. He'll look after her."

Her mother sighed. "They're staying with Dad, which I'm glad about. You might not believe this, but I do care."

"I know you do mom. Just give Derek a chance. He's surprised us often enough before. And Casey is hardly one to settle for second best. If she thinks Derek is the one, we have to trust her on it." Nora knew she was right.


	51. Sam

The next day was one of those rarities – a public holiday which dawned brilliantly sunny with a forecast which said it would remain all day. The plan was to go back to their parents' house for the day, with talk of a barbeque in the afternoon. For now, however, Casey's dad had invited them to share his breakfast on the terrace which both their accommodations bordered.

Before any of that, Derek had to get out of bed, a process which he was finding very difficult because when he woke up, Casey was sprawled across his chest. He tried to move out from under her, which caused her to stir and the resulting friction between them turned into a semi-conscious make-out session and finally something else entirely.

"You do realise we just had sex in your dad's house, don't you?"

"Technically not. It's the annex." Casey replied looking up at him.

"You say potato…"

"Hey! If I don't think of it like that, I'll be too freaked out to let it happen again." She explained.

"Okay. It's the annex. You want the bathroom first? We're due for breakfast in half an hour."

"I'm comfortable."

"Yeah. So am I but I think your dad would rather we didn't stand him up for a morning of sex."

Casey grinned. "You go first. I'm worn out."

Derek snorted but he got out of bed and went for his shower, his wife watching the view as he walked. "Peeping tom." He complained under his breath.

"Like you weren't planning on doing the same." She laughed stretching in the now vacant bed.

.

The morning was warm and sunny, and Dennis had laid quite a selection of food out for them, including fruit and bacon sandwiches, catering to the tastes of both his daughter and her husband.

"This is nice, Dad. Thank you. Are you sure we can eat it all?"

Dennis laughed. "Of course not. I've got a friend joining us." He looked slightly bashful as he admitted, "She's in the shower."

Derek chuckled and Casey's eyes bugged.

"Her name's Ruth and we've been dating for about three months. She's looking forward to meeting you."  
"Oh."

Derek put his hand over Casey's and leaned close as her father went back into the main house for the coffee.

"Evidently we weren't the only ones enjoying wake-up sex."

"Ew! Derek!" Casey looked uncomfortable. "I don't want to think about my dad like that."

"I'm sure he doesn't want to think of you like that either." Derek pointed out. Casey tilted her head to one side as she thought about what he was saying and then her expression changed. "I guess you are right. You know it's funny how your inhibitions about sex change the moment you start being sexually active."  
Derek smirked. "I never had any inhibitions." He said.

"No, darling. I never thought you did." She grinned back.

Dennis came back out of the house with the coffee pot and Ruth who turned out to be a rather attractive grey-blonde lady of her father's own age. She seemed really nice and friendly, and completely smitten with Dennis. Fortunately, that was mutual and Casey was visited by a sense that Ruth was around for the longer term and so made an effort to get to know her.

Derek watched his wife as she talked and ate, and he was immeasurably grateful to her father. Casey was the most relaxed he had ever seen her. More relaxed even than she had been in the coffee shop the day she had flown to New York before the whole sorry business took place. He thought she had never been more attractive than she was now because she was less awkward and more laid back. At one point he caught Dennis' eyes and realised his father-in-law was watching his daughter in the same way. The unspoken comment between them made both men smile.

Later, when Derek and Casey left to make their way to the Venturi house, Dennis took Derek to one side.

"You're off to a good start, Derek." He said, nodding his head to where Ruth and Casey were talking. "Don't screw it up."

.

While they were dressing before the breakfast, Casey had asked Derek when he planned to visit Sam. It had been six months since the two best friends had seen each other and Casey knew that Derek didn't want Sam to hear about his marriage from anyone other than him. So now as they left Dennis' home, to walk the half a mile to Nora's, Derek was planning on leaving Casey with their family and continuing on to Sam's family home.

"How are you going to tell him?" Casey asked as they walked hand in hand.

"Carefully." Derek said. "He's still quite protective of you."

That surprised her.

"It's one of the things I like about Sam." Derek explained. "He's very loyal. You know I've never heard him bad-mouth an ex-girlfriend even if they dumped him."

"I know what you mean." Casey said, squeezing Derek's hand. "I hope this doesn't change anything."

"Me too."

Derek went into the house long enough to say hello and to explain that he would be back later, and when Casey looked like she was about to be swallowed up by the younger Venturis, he pecked her on the lips and left.

The walk through the familiar streets was interesting. He saw landmarks he recognised so well he could follow them in his sleep, interspersed with new items and sights which showed him just how long he had been away. Everything was the same but different. It was reassuring and confusing at the same time.

.

Sam's mom opened the door and squealed yanking Derek into the house and a warm hug. This was the woman who had been opening the door to Derek since elementary school and the past six months was probably the longest she had ever gone without seeing him. She explained that it was like losing one of her own children when the Venturis disappeared. Derek apologised, but when he found out that Sam was currently at the rink he was forced to apologise again and to explain that she would have to wait until she saw Sam to get the explanation.

He needed to tell Sam first.

The rink was also within walking distance which was one of the reasons why Derek was so good at ice hockey: too much effort and he would never have bothered. Normally, had he been blessed with a car he would have resented the short walk, but as his mind was still adjusting to being back in London, the re-discovering of his neighbourhood was pleasant.

As he walked, his mind wandered to the task at hand. How was he going to tell his best friend that, at the tender age of 21, he was married?

Happily.

To a very un-pregnant wife.

To his best friend's ex-girlfriend.

To Derek's own step-sister.

Sam was going to be shocked. Derek laughed. Sam was not going to believe him. He would think it was a prank.

Before he could come to a decision about how to approach the issue, Derek arrived at the rink. He couldn't hang around outside thinking it through because the moment he drew near to the building he started seeing people he knew very well: the staff at the rink, other junior and senior hockey players, a few amateur figure skaters who used to use the rink for practice before Derek and his team. He met a couple of people outside of the entrance, and as he went inside, came across more and more old friends and acquaintances.

Some people he just waved to, some he stopped and spoke to. It was nice. Familiar. But he was in a hurry to see Sam and he quickly excused himself to move further into the building.

He found Sam on the ice, circling and cutting patterns as he practised offensive and defensive manoeuvres by himself. Like Derek, Sam was no longer on a hockey programme, but the need to stay fit and active hadn't left. Derek knew that now that the danger was past, he too would be going back into regular training sessions. It was true what they said about newly weds putting on weight.

"Jesus! Look what the cat dragged in!" Sam exclaimed when he caught sight of Derek. He was beaming from ear to ear and all but flew across the ice. He stopped at the gap in the boarding and grabbed Derek in a bear hug. "Where the fuck have you been?" he demanded, and Derek laughed at the straight talking.

"Long story. You wanna go grab a soda or something?"

"You going to fill me in on the Disappearing Venturi Mystery?" Sam asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course."

"Then lead on MacDuff."

Derek chuckled. "Do you even know who MacDuff was?"

Sam frowned. "Some Scottish dude, why? Do you?"  
"You just quoted Macbeth and challenged me to a fight."

Sam stared at him. "Since when did you become a keener?"

Derek gave him a dirty look and Sam laughed. "You scared me then, man."

They went to Smelly Nelly's. Or whatever incarnation it currently was. Derek didn't notice. It had changed interior colour and the staff were people he recognised from Edwin's year group but other than that he paid it little attention.

They ordered coke and a large slice of chocolate cake, Derek completely forgetting about the large breakfast he had put away at Dennis', and sat down to talk.

"So…" Derek looked at Sam. "How's life?"  
"Seriously? You want to start with me?" Sam laughed.

Derek shrugged. "We're going to be talking about me all morning, I thought I'd be polite."

"Why?" Sam said and then they both laughed.

"Life's good." Sam continued. "Away from your influence, I appear to be pulling decent grades."

"Me too. Funny that!" They grinned. Derek looked at Sam. "Woman?"

Sam shrugged. "There's one." He said shyly.

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Derek teased gently.

"I know. I'm supposed to be sowing my wild college oats and everything, but I've just never been able to be as light-hearted about girls like you. I always seem to fall hook line and sinker." He sighed. "So go on. Tell me about the Venturi Vixens."

Derek choked on his coke. "What?"  
"The harem you have stacked up, ripe for the plucking. Come on Derek I live through your stories."  
Derek shrugged. "No vixens, no harem."

"On a break?" Sam asked.

Derek shook his head.

"Monogamy?" Sam looked shocked. "I thought you weren't doing serious relationships again."

"It's complicated. I'll tell you about it later. Tell me about Vancouver."

Sam launched into a long tale about life the other side of Canada, including a small anecdote about bumping into Sally. He told the story cautiously, uncertain how Derek was going to take it and was relieved when it didn't even seem to register with his old friend that they were talking about his ex.

"Enough about me." Sam announced. "Give, Dude before I beat it out of you."

Derek sipped his drink thoughtfully. "We've been in hiding." He said. "Casey's dad screwed up and got us on some wacko mobster's hitlist."

"Derek. Be serious." Sam pleaded.

"I am Sam. As serious as it gets. The guy put Lizzie in a coma for nearly two months."

"Fuck!"

"Yeah. Dennis, Casey's dad, invited Casey and Lizzie to New York for a visit. While they were there, Lizzie was attacked. It forced all of us into hiding. The rest of the family got moved to Toronto, Casey and I were relocated to NYU so that our studies didn't suffer."

"You and Casey." Derek nodded. "Together?" Sam queried. Derek nodded again. "And how was that?" Sam asked pointedly.

Derek chuckled. "Explosive for a while. We were supposed to be hiding as siblings, but then we found out that my family have mob connections and that anyone with the Venturi surname was untouchable."  
Sam's jaw dropped. Derek grinned. "I know. Mario Puzo – eat your heart out! They changed our cover to that of young newly weds and planned to fake a wedding."

Sam snorted. "Like that would work! How long did it take for them to realise?"

Derek looked impressed. "Now! You see, that was my point exactly. I knew it would never work."

"What happened? When did they cotton on?"

"They didn't." Derek stated. "I wouldn't risk it. I told Casey I didn't trust the cover."

"And…"

"I took her to Vegas and married her for real."

There was silence: a long extended silence. Then Sam started laughing.

"What?" Derek asked.

"The whole idea of you persuading Casey to marry you, in Vegas! Shit! The whole school knows that girl has a wedding scrapbook under her bed."

Derek frowned. "Yeah well. Someone almost killing her made her realise I'm not such a bad catch after all."

After a moment, Sam realised Derek was serious.

"You married Casey?"

Derek nodded, holding up his left hand to show the wedding ring. "Five months ago. We've been living in an apartment in New York."

"Is it still in one piece?"

Derek smirked. "It was when we left it yesterday morning."

"You're still married to her?"

"Yes." Derek leaned forward. "Sam. Suspend your disbelief for a moment. Casey's my wife. And. It's. Working."

"What do you mean, "And it's working."?"

Derek sighed. "I mean, against the odds, I fell in love with my wife. And for some ridiculous reason, she's in love with me."


	52. Sons and Lovers

"Hey Sis!" Lizzie greeted Casey as she left Marti and Robbie splashing in the inflatable pool in the Venturi yard. Marti was watching Robbie with an eagle eye to make sure he was safe, so Casey felt reassured enough to leave. Lizzie was sitting under the shade of the two apple trees at the end of the garden, the sun too strong for her to stay out for very long in direct sunlight, sparking as it would another bad headache. Casey joined her on the blanket which she had spread out.

"Marti's grown so much." Casey said. "Do you remember that day when she mixed all the bottles in the bathroom up to make "potions?""

Lizzie grinned in recognition. "Or the time when she mixed up all her animal sounds and Mom and George thought they were neglecting her."

"Then there was the vomiting at Fiona's wedding."

"Oh god! And in the back of the car on that horrible roadtrip. That was in my lap!"

Casey grinned. "I missed that one."

Lizzie curved and eyebrow. "Yes. As I recall, you were at home…with Derek."

Casey blushed and Lizzie decided to tease her.

"I reckon you two were faking it." She announced. "I think you were fooling around from the moment we moved here. Every time you two had an "argument" it was because you nearly got caught."

"Derek and I weren't the ones hiding in the games cupboard." Casey said, with a smirk worthy of Derek. Lizzie blushed a vivid pink.

"We never…I…erm…it's not like that!"

"Sure Liz." Her sister said and Lizzie was left thinking that her brother-in-law had too much influence over his wife.

"Who would have thought?" Lizzie said, watching Marti and Robbie playing. "Who would have thought Derek Venturi would be the love of your life?"

Casey leaned back against the tree.

"It works the other way too. Who'd have thought I would be the one to tame him?"  
They grinned.

"Why did you marry him? Before all the love stuff, why did you marry him?"

Her sister looked thoughtful. "You won't believe me." She said, eventually.

"Try me."

"It was a bad time in all our lives and it was difficult to know who to trust and what was real anymore. But I knew that I could trust Derek. I knew all his idiosyncrasies, all his foibles. For all the arguing when we were teenagers, all the pranking, I knew that in a serious situation, he always had my back. He might grouch about it, or tease me, but the route he planned was always the shorter, sweeter journey."

"Even when it mean marrying him?"  
"Especially."

Lizzie closed her eyes as she leaned back against the tree too. She smiled.

"Some of the stuff in hospital I remember, even though I wasn't awake, especially in the last few days. I remember you telling me you thought you were falling for him. I guess that's one of the two reasons why this wasn't such a shock."

"And the other reason?"  
"I know you both. Remember when I was learning to swim and Dad had to push me into the pool. Once I was there, I loved it. Derek was always the one to shove you."

* * *

"Go on, Robbie. She's hot. She won't be cross. Honestly, trust me lil' bro."

Casey was dozing in the shade of the tree. The warm air under the branches was soporific and after her conversation with Lizzie had petered out, she had lain down for a little snooze. Now her mind was playing tricks on her because she could hear Derek's voice.

"Yeah. Round that way. Aim for her chest. Cool! I think there's an ice cream in it for you if you hit her square on the breast bone."  
Something niggled at Casey, but sleep was a comforting thing so she smiled softly and snuggled down again…

…until the stream of cold water hit her between the breasts with the force of a pair of defib paddles.

She sat bolt upright.

Robbie was standing in front of her. The large 'supersoaker' water rifle in his baby hands, looking as though he didn't understand how he got there.

But Casey knew.

"Der-ek!" She shouted and to everyone present in the yard it was like a flashback to their teenage years.

Derek was standing, "innocently" across the other side of the garden, talking to his father.

"What's up, angel?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in mock concern.

Casey stood up and stomped across the grass. "You little…" Her voice trailed away as she realised they had an audience.

"What?" Derek frowned, and looked her up and down dramatically. "Casey? Did you realise you can see right the way through your top?"

He didn't get to say much else. There was a flash of movement as Casey launched herself at him, they collided and the momentum carried him the short distance to the paddling pool. Derek landed in the centre of the plastic structure with a loud, very wet, splash!

Casey, who had somehow managed to stay upright, stood at the side and grinned.

"Do you realise you can see right through that t-shirt?" She said, smirking as her words echoed his, and her arms folded across her wet chest. Derek screwed up his face into an evil grin and reaching for her arm, pulled her into the pool with him.

"Payback's a bitch, babe!" He hissed quietly, twisting his body so that she landed in the pool and he was hanging, dripping over her. Their faces were very close and their bodies closer. If they had been on their own, there was no doubt in either of their minds they would be shedding clothes right now. However, angry sex did not seem appropriate in their parents' backyard. Derek huffed as he realised he wasn't even allowed to kiss her.

"No PDA." Casey said regretfully, as if reading his mind.

"I know. I haven't forgotten." Derek said. They gazed at each other for a long moment and then Casey broke the spell.

"Hi Sam!" She exclaimed to someone over her husband's shoulder, and Derek realised that Sam must be standing behind him. He pulled back from his wife, offering her his hand to help her up.

"Nice top." He murmured under his breath. "But I'd rather not share that look with Sam. Any chance you can borrow something from Liz?"

The girl concerned appeared at Derek's elbow with a towel which Casey took gratefully, wrapping herself in it before she turned to face Sam.

Her ex grinned. "Some things never changed." He said nodding towards Derek. Casey returned the smile.

"I know. I pity his poor wife." She glanced at her left hand. "Whoops! That would be me!"

Sam laughed. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks…I think." She looked curiously at Sam. "You don't look freaked out about it." She observed.

"To be honest when he first told me, I didn't believe him."  
Derek interrupted. "Yeah. He choked on his soda and told me to stop being an asshole."

"And when he insisted it was true, I got mad at him and also a bit freaked out. I mean, what if it was true? He invited me to your yard party and I wasn't sure what I was going to find, but seeing you two fighting like that again brought it all back to me. The only difference between then and now is that the worst bit doesn't happen anymore."  
"The worst bit?"  
Sam shrugged. "You used to fight, and then there would come a balancing point where it would look as though you were both going to laugh and hug each other, the break in the sexual tension. That never happened. Before, when it got to that point, one or other of you would do or say something really nasty and the other would walk away. Now the fun bit of the fights are there, and the nasty bits don't happen."

Casey smiled at Derek. "I'd never thought of it like that."

Robbie toddled over. "Casey? Are you mad with me?"

His big sister shook her head. "No sweetie. I know it was just Derek being Derek."

Robbie's face brightened. "Good. Coz that was FUN!"

Casey groaned. "Oh no! It's genetic!"

Sam laughed. "What's the matter, Case? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Her husband chuckled. "No. She's just considering sterilisation."

* * *

Nora watched the exchange in the garden from her vantage point at an upstairs window. The window was open and she could hear the laughter floating up from below. It was as though the years had turned back to when she first came to this house with her daughters, to the early days of Casey and Derek's relationship. The little fight over the water was nothing new. In fact it looked just like a dozen or so they had "enjoyed" over the years. The two of them laughing about it together afterwards was new though. She privately agreed with Sam. It was as though someone had re-written the endings to all the disagreements between her two eldest children. She watched Liz lead Derek and Casey back into the house to change their wet clothes, and when he thought no one was looking, she saw her step-son put an arm around Casey's shoulder and whisper something. She smiled up at him and he kissed her softly.

Nora looked quickly away from the intensely private moment, aware that the feeling the kiss left _her_ with was not one of distaste.

When she made her way back outside, Sam was standing beside George and the grill with a beer in his hand.

"Mrs V!" He greeted her. "Looking good as usual."  
Nora laughed. "You've spent too much time with my step-son."

Sam grinned. "Step-son or son-in-law?" He teased. He knew that George and Nora hadn't taken the marriage very well, because Derek had told him about all of that on the way over. He also thought George and Nora were some of the coolest parents around, and that whatever issues they had with their children's marriage, it wasn't terminal. Sam figured he could get away with a joke or too, and it might even help Derek if it made the parents lighten up.

George groaned. "Sam, please. I get nervous when anyone mentions Derek and the Law in the same sentence."

Nora and Sam chuckled. "He certainly has a way of making a name for himself doesn't he?" Sam had often been around for Derek's pranks, and directly involved in many. Somehow _he_ always managed to stay out of the aftermath. His parents believed it was because he was more sensible. Sam knew it was because Derek did everything in his power to leave Sam out of it when the post mortems began. Derek was loyal to Sam, and Sam would return the favour.

George nodded. "I should have known his marriage would be equally dramatic. It's Casey's involvement in it that is slightly surprising."

Sam shook his head. "You think? Casey's always had a hand in Derek's biggest pranks. Even if it was blowing them out of the water."

Nora tilted her head to one side as she regarded Sam. "But of all the guys she could have chosen, she chose someone so irresponsible and reckless." She turned her head to her husband. "No offence, Georgie."

"None taken." George said in a resigned tone.

"I mean, apart from Truman, I liked all her ex-boyfriends."

Sam smiled. "Ah but none of us had the strength of character to survive Casey. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, still do in a platonic way, but her lofty ideals and flights of fancy making being her partner a difficult task. She's like a weather balloon. She flies high and achieves great things while she's up there, but it needs a big anchor and a strong cable to keep her from flying off on the next wind to blow through here. Only Derek has ever managed to do that job. And Derek has absolutely no choice around Casey. He always ends up doing the right thing. They are good for each other, even though it takes a bit of digging to realise that. I guess they are inevitable."

There was a moment's silence while everyone processed the unusually long speech from Sam.

"Does Abby know?" Sam asked, sipping his beer.

George chuckled humourlessly. "Yeah."

"What was her reaction?"

Derek's father ran his hand through his hair. "She laughed loudly down the phone and said, - and I quote – 'She shoots, she scores! Never let it be said I used the phrase, but _I told you so_."

Sam looked taken aback. "Meaning?"

"Remember that time Abby paid a visit because Derek was about to fail Spanish?" Sam nodded. George continued. "Abby took me to one side afterwards and told me to keep an eye on Casey, because Derek would either "kill her, or get her pregnant". Then she grinned and told me I was on my own with that one."

Sam had been Derek's friend when George was married to Abby, and he could totally see her saying that. He liked both Derek's moms. They both had a sense of humour and that was essential with dealing with Derek Venturi.

A short while later, the weather really heating up, Sam volunteered to go get George a beer from the fridge. He jogged to the rear steps and was just about to climb the steps to the kitchen door when something made him stop; the sound of voices talking quietly in the kitchen. Sam wasn't an eavesdropper by nature, but he'd been around Derek too long.

"Are you happy?" He heard Derek ask gently. There was a rustle of movement before Casey's whispered reply.

"Pretty. Things could be a lot worse than they are now. We're here and apart from some awkward silences every now and then they seem really pleased to see us."

"I'm sorry." Derek apologised and his voice sounded muffled as if he was resting his forehead against Casey's and talking down towards her feet.

"Why?" she sounded concerned.  
"You missed out on the big wedding and the triumphant home-coming."

"You talk a lot of crap Venturi." She replied, but her voice held too much love to be spiteful. "This all happened because I wanted it to. You asked the questions but it was me that gave the answers."

"I don't deserve you."  
"No you don't." She retorted, but there was a laugh there. "I don't deserve you either. We're lucky."

"Yes. We are." Derek said, his voice sounding muffled again. The rustling noise happened again. "I love you."

Major rustling now.

"I love you too." Casey said and then the talking stopped and the rustling noise began again.

Sam, suddenly extra curious, stepped quietly into the laundry room and peeked through the open side to the kitchen. Derek and Casey were standing by the fridge, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Their arms and bodies were tightly entwined and both of them had their eyes closed as they kissed.

Sam smiled, and turning, went back outside to wait for their moment to pass.

* * *

**AN: Approximately four chapters left…**

**Sorry. I had visitors again this weekend, and last week was the WhitSun break ("half term") which meant the children were off school. Normal update service from tomorrow…hopefully.**


	53. 5th Anniversary: Wood and Silver

Casey couldn't sleep. It wasn't the rain against the windows of their apartment and it wasn't the slight snoring noise emanating from her husband's throat – the remaining legacy of the two-week cold he had endured.

It was the usual reason for her sleeplessness.

Sighing, she threw back the covers, grabbed her robe and left the bedroom for the living room. If this went on much longer she was going to need to get something to help her sleep because she couldn't function on this little rest. Derek commented on her grouchiness almost daily and it was starting to affect their relationship. She knew they were committed to each other, and she knew that nothing would break them apart. But that didn't mean she wanted to put him through the worry she knew he was developing. There was enough to worry about without her adding to it.

This apartment was different to the one they had first lived in when they came to New York. This one was only slightly bigger, but it too was clean, if inconvenient for the district where they both worked. But beggars could not be choosers. And Casey was more than a little aware that they were both too close to that pecuniary state than was comfortable. Less than five years after their unorthodox marriage and its subsequent repercussions and now both graduates of NYU, graduate school and the New York Times' intern programme, they were hardly living the life of Riley.

And money, or rather the lack thereof, was yet again keeping her awake.

.

They knew the life they wanted. They had discussed it often in the early years of their marriage, first as giggles under the comforter when Derek had joked about little Venturis, and then later on when they were trying to plan for the future in more serious tones centred round the desperate need for Casey to _not_ forget her birth control.

They loved each other. They wanted children. But they could not afford a child right now. Besides, Casey had a career to make and so did Derek.

There was tension, but strangely, it only really served to bring them closer. They fought, because it was what they had always done, but not about the important things. They knew the game plan, they knew each other. In the important things, they were one – a marriage of souls.

Almost five years down the line, Casey Venturi loved her husband with a passion she had never thought possible. Derek Venturi honestly believed he would die before he hurt his wife.

But that didn't stop the worry about the bills, and the horrible truth that if Casey woke in the night, she would not be able to go back to sleep.

.

The first year of their marriage had continued as it started; a long period of settling into their new way of life, and reconciling it with their old way of life. They had gradually informed their friends and the wider family of their marriage, and for the most part, although people had expressed surprise there had been a large amount of support. Support had been in the form of cards and gifts, such as Aunt Madge, Mrs Higginbotham and their neighbours. Others had phoned for long chats and detailed description of how the romance had developed.

A few had not taken the news so well.

Emily had written a long vitriolic missive describing Casey's betrayal of her as a friend. Stating that the new Mrs Venturi had never liked Emily and how the relationship between Emily and Derek had broken down because Casey had got her claws into her step-brother. Emily blamed Casey for everything that had beset her friend's attempts to date Derek for the past five years.

Seeing his wife in tears as she read the letter, and not knowing its contents, Derek had pulled the sheets of paper from her hands and after glancing at Emily's words, he had burnt the letter in the kitchen sink.

"She was one who betrayed you." Derek said. "On numerous occasions. Her two-facedness was one of the things that put me off her. Ignore it, Casey. She isn't worth your time."

Casey had sighed and nodded, and though she was reluctant to admit it, her mind furnished many examples of the double standards from her best friend that Derek accused Emily of. And most of them Emily hadn't even bothered to hide very well.

To Casey's surprise, however, that it was Edwin who dealt with Emily. He had been there when Casey had received the letter, and he had seen the tears it provoked and the defensiveness towards his wife that his brother exhibited. And maybe too there was an element of self-interest in the defensiveness that Edwin also felt in standing up for the right for a brother to marry his step-sister. He bumped into Emily in Smelly Nelly's and told her loudly and extensively what he thought of her betrayal.

Most of London heard Edwin's outburst – or at least heard of it. There was a stack of Wedding congratulations cards after that, which Casey put down to Derek's popularity rather than her own.

Two cards made her pause and smile.

The first came from Sally, postmarked Nice, France and held enclosed a long letter addressed to Casey full of good wishes and luck, and a surprising admission that Derek's ex had always been jealous of the relationship he had with Casey and she had not been hugely shocked at their marriage. Sally was now married to a French doctor and had emigrated to France where shortly she would be delivered of their first child. Derek smiled at the letter when Casey showed it to him, and promised he would even add a short note of his own thanks and congratulations when Casey replied. Knowing what her husband was like for letter writing, Casey wasn't holding her breath.

The second of the two cards came from Paul. It too had a note with it, explaining that shortly after his two most favourite students had left high school he had taken himself back to college to complete a Masters in Psychology and he was now firmly established in the field of _couples therapy_ for which he was immensely grateful to Derek and Casey. He enclosed a business card, promising reduced rates for special friends!

* * *

Back in the New York apartment, Casey watched the rain on the window. It was easing but it still made the October night look uninviting. She considered getting her laptop out to start writing, and was just debating whether to start on the assignment she had been given for the new beauty products column – a mindless task which hardly required the high level honours degree she possessed or even an IQ bigger than her shoe size. The alternative was to do a chapter of her novel which she was writing. In the lower moments when she had pecuniary-focussed sleepless nights, she daydreamed about completing the novel and earning an amount of cash when it was published.

She didn't want a huge amount, just enough to take the pressure off.

The glazing in the apartment wasn't great and as Casey leant against the window, she noticed her breath fogged the glass as the warm, moist air met the smooth surface which was cold from the temperature outside. She raised a hand to wipe the fog away, and then she saw a similar patch of fog slightly to her right, where she had not been standing. Again, she extended a finger to brush the condensation away, but it held firm and she frowned. As she examined the glass, a flicker of light caught her eye in the midst of the fog, and a hand of fear squeezed her stomach as she realised the patch of "fog" on her glass was smoke outside, and the distant flickering was that of flames. Some where, approximately two blocks away there was a fire.

At the same time as she realised this, she also realised that the fire was growing before her eyes, and then she saw a flash and a second plume of smoke. This was big, and was going to be dramatic, and hating herself for thinking it, Casey knew it was going to be big news. She was a trainee writer on the staff of a major newspaper, and a news story was breaking in front of her eyes.

"Derek!" She shook him by the shoulder.

"Too tired! In the morning." Derek murmured sleepily.

Casey shook him once more. "I'm not after sex, moron. I'm going out. There's a fire a couple of blocks down, it's too early in the morning for anyone to be covering it, I'm going to do it."

Derek sat up quickly. "Like _fuck_ you are! It's…" He squinted at the alarm clock. "Jesus Princess! It's 2.30am! You can't walk the streets of New York on your own at 2.30am."

But Casey wasn't listening to him. She was pulling clothes out of her chest of drawers and disappearing into the bathroom. Derek sighed and climbed out of bed.

By the time Casey emerged five minutes later, he was dressed in jeans and an old Queens sweatshirt.

"You don't have to come." She said, but he could tell she was secretly pleased.

"My career too." He lied. "You'll need a camera guy."

She grinned at him and followed him as he grabbed the bag containing his stills camera and small video camera and headed for the door.

.

Casey was confident for the first block and a half, because she knew the rough area of the fire, but after that she had to just follow the smoke. There weren't even any sirens to follow, and she realised as she drew closer it was because the fire was in a large section of derelict warehousing. There were very few people around. The fire wasn't visible from ground level and the windy weather billowed the smoke through the alleys.

"Any ideas?" Derek asked as they paused yet again. Casey shrugged.

"What's down there?" She asked nodding down a dark alley.

Derek put his hand into his pocket to check for the flick knife he carried when he and Casey came home to the apartment late at night.

"Let's go find out."

At the end of the alley, they turned a corner and stared.

A warehouse the length of a block was largely alight. Its flames so bright it hurt to look at. There were other buildings near by and it didn't take much to imagine the flames leaping from one structure to the other.

Derek swore loudly, and for once Casey didn't reprimand him. He took his cell from his pocket.

"Get the street name." he ordered her.

"India Road." She replied looking up at the street sign and then she watched as Derek dialled 911 and called it in.

He hung up and looked at her frightened face in the glow from the flames.

"Do you think there's anyone inside?" She asked timidly.

Derek decided honesty was the best policy.

"If there is, they're toast. Regardless, neither of us is getting close enough to find out."

She nodded her agreement and then frowned as he reached into his bag, fishing out his video camera.

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" He asked her, jerking his head at the scene of destruction in front of him. Casey snapped to attention and reached into her coat pocket for her Dictaphone and then she carefully began to describe the scene.

Between them, they recorded the events from the 911 call to the arrival of the emergency crews and the subsequent attempts to douse the flames. It was a good half hour before any formal news crews arrived, which was about ten minutes after Casey heard one of the fire crew informing the police control point that they needed to extend the exclusion zone because they had found bomb-making equipment inside.

As first of the other news crews arrived and the light began to rise for the dawn, Derek slung a weary arm around his wife's weary shoulders and hissed. "Let's get out of here before this lot get chance to move on it." And then the pair of them hailed a cab and made for their offices.

* * *

The newsroom was bedlam. The editors were all clambering to get their reporters to the scene and to get a fresh angle. Each and every PC in the building had been commandeered, and Casey and Derek found their own desks, a short distance apart from each other were among the casualties.

"Fuck off Venturi." One of the upstart newbie reporters hissed. "Real work needs doing here. Go find some other desk to play at."

Derek raised an eyebrow and hollered across the newsroom in a voice, no one could miss. "Casey, honey? Can I edit this fire footage on your PC only this asswad doesn't understand the phrase 'hold the front page'?"

The newsroom fell silent.

The editor-in-chief crossed the floor. "Are you fucking with me, Venturi?"

Derek held his ground. "No."

"You've seriously got footage and pictures from the fire? You've been there?"

"Nah! I just couldn't be bothered to wash for the past month, Casey likes the grimy look."

Which was when Derek's ultimate boss noted the sooty appearance of his two newest recruits.

"Show me." He said and Derek led the way to his PC, knocking the upstart to one side as he connected the USB cable from his video camera to the terminal.

The footage was good. It was shot with a home movie camera, but it was a top of the range home movie camera that had been a birthday present to him from his father-in-law. Derek had been top of his graduate class for his media work, and the final report on his internship had praised both his stills and moving image work. The trouble was, in the newspaper business, you start from the bottom up.

What the editor-in-chief saw before him was a dream come true. It was a clear concise picture of the events of the fire and whilst he was in charge of a newspaper and couldn't use moving images, he could see that there would be good stills. Besides, the paper's owners also had connections at CNN. The editor would be dining off these images for a long time to come.

"We could do with words." Derek's boss said bluntly. The chief was not given to praise easily. The fewer words he said to you the better. Derek glanced over at Casey's desk where she had succeeded in regaining her PC. She was frantically typing away, putting her words onto the screen, pausing every now and then to listen to her own voice on the recording.

"Casey was with me." Derek said. "She spotted the fire from our apartment. It was us that called it in."

One of the sub-editors gasped. Derek continued. "You should know, the police believe it was a terrorist bomb factory."

The Editor-in-chief straightened. "Holy Shit! Carstairs!"

A small, beady man appeared.

"Yes boss?"

"Get Venturi and his partner whatever they need, desks, staff and time in the editing suite. They've got the front page. I need to go talk to the guys at CNN."

Twenty minutes later, Derek phoned London and woke up Casey's mother.

"Switch on CNN." He said simply.

"What?"

"Just do it Nora."

Nora sat up in bed and fumbled for the remote for the bedroom TV. She succeeded in switching it on in time to see the screen filled with a live feed from the still burning building. At the bottom of the screen, she could read the ticker announcing that the Department for Homeland Security had confirmed the CNN report that bomb-making equipment had been found in the warehouse fire. The newscaster then cut to a video report with the statement:

"We have the following report from our colleague at The New York Times, Casey Venturi who was first at the scene."

Then Nora's daughter's calm voice filled the bedroom.

And Nora started to cry with pride.

* * *

"What is it with you and penguin suits?" Derek asked Casey as they descended in the elevator. She laughed. He noticed she did that a lot more now.

"Aw! Come on…It is our anniversary." She pleaded.

Derek snorted. "Last year, we spent our anniversary at that little Italian place near the university, and you let me wear jeans."

"Last year, wasn't this important." She stated as the doors opened to the lobby and her heels clicked on the marbled surface of the hotel floor. She paused before they stepped through the front entrance. "And don't you dare disagree with me."

He held up a hand. "It's important. But only because it's five years of being married."

Casey's jaw dropped. "It's our wood and/or silver anniversary Derek. It's a big deal. Besides what about the rest of tonight?"

"I'm trying not to think about that." Derek said internally smirking at the fact his wife knew the meaning of all the wedding anniversaries – it stood to reason she would be a keener about that! He ran a finger around his collar nervously. "You're so much better at this than me."

Casey smirked. "I'd like that framed and put on our living room wall please."

He smiled. "There are some things I'm good at, babe." He said wagging his eyebrows.

"I know." Casey said. "I'm trying not to think about _that_. It's rather difficult when you wear the tux."

He chuckled and they were silent until they reached their destination.

"You look beautiful as always, Casey." Mike Morgan, Editor-in-chief New York Times said, bending to kiss her hand in a way that Derek thought was ridiculous in this day and age. Casey soaked it up though, so he bit his tongue. They followed their boss through and took their places at the table where their names were placed.

"This reminds me of another formal dinner in another hotel." Casey said to Derek.

"Yeah. Well, you won't mind if I come with you to the bathroom then." Her husband replied, remembering the events of that previous dinner.

Casey smiled and squeezed his hand.

.

They ate, though both of them were nervous, and afterwards they clapped with the other occupants of the room as required.

Then it was their turn.

"And the winners of the 2011 Prize for Journalism goes to Casey and Derek Venturi for their report into the 2010 India Road Bomb Factory Fire!"

There was a lot of clapping and cheering, and on automatic pilot, Derek and Casey stood and made their way to the stage. Derek could hear nothing over the pounding of the blood in his ears. But Casey, it appeared was cool and calm.

"I'd like to thank my partner, Derek, for letting me drag him out of bed that night [cue laughter], I'd like to thank our family for their support over the years, and I would like to thank our friends and colleagues at the Times for their help in turning two cub reporters into something worth reading and watching that night. Thank you!"

She stood to one side and Derek realised with horror that he was expected to say something. He stepped forward.

"What she said…" He said, and stepped back. The audience laughed. Casey nudged Derek.

"Seriously," He began again. "I'd like to thank Casey, for threatening to go cover the story on her own, because I was dreaming about Lara Croft at the time and I don't think anything else would have got me out of bed at that moment other than my wife trying to kill herself. [More laughter]." Derek looked at the engraved cup in his hand, and chuckled to himself. "You won't know this, but today is our fifth wedding anniversary. It's been five very event-filled years, and it seems that it is going to get even more exciting over the coming months with all the projects we have coming up. A little bird tells me that five years is the wood anniversary, or in some cultures silver cutlery." He held up the cup in his hand. "A silver cup on a wooden base seems like the perfect anniversary present to me. Thank you."

Casey turned to Derek and he planted a quick kiss on her cheek and followed her from the stage.

* * *

**AN: Longest FF chapter I've ever written I think. But it all needed to go in one chapter.**


	54. The Seven Year Itch

Their seventh anniversary they spent in Israel…and Casey spent it in tears. Derek wasn't sure why, because she wouldn't tell him, and he had a bad feeling about that because she rarely kept anything from him.

He could put it down to too much travelling and burn-out but Casey was used to travel by now. In the two years and four months since their first story together, they had travelled the world reporting on conflict and humanitarian crises, living out of kit bags and often surviving on army rations. They had had three weeks off in two years, and had both needed new passports with extra pages, but he knew that Casey could cope. She always seemed to find a hidden energy reserve – especially when he found time to prank her. (The first time they had travelled abroad together he had hidden a pair of lacy panties in her passport so that when she got to passport control they fell out onto the desk of the large uniformed official.)

Until recently, they had managed to keep laughing though they had seen some horrific sights and heard some awful tales. Derek hoped they weren't becoming immune to the carnage humanity inflicted on itself, but he had to admit to not being as shocked now as he was on that first overseas assignment.

Money was less of a worry now. They both earned a decent wage – propped up by the danger money element and the fact that their expenses were covered by their employers. They were never home to eat now, wore tough utilitarian clothing and had not got round to moving from their tiny apartment. Whatever kept Casey up at night now, it wasn't worrying about money.

Their marriage was still strong…or until recently it was. The last two weeks had been strange though. They had been home for a few days, and stayed once again at Dennis' so that they could see the family. Things were better with George and Nora, so they could have stayed there and been allowed to share the same room, but they enjoyed seeing Dennis and Ruth, as well as their other family members. Casey should have been happy and content, but she wasn't.

The whole family noticed it.

Nora was tactful and when subtle questioning of Casey revealed nothing, she took Derek to one side and asked him what was wrong. But Derek couldn't say. She had closed herself off from him too.

Edwin joked about the seven-year itch and was rewarded with a stern glance from Lizzie, who seemed to have gained more influence with him since they went off to college.

A small part of Derek was insecure enough to wonder if Edwin was right.

* * *

In Israel, they managed to stay in a hotel at least - in contrast to the canvas tents they had shared with whichever army personnel had been assigned to protect them when they were in hotter war zones. On the night of their anniversary, Derek took her to dinner in a small family restaurant he had discovered near to the hotel. Casey smiled and chatted, but he could see the shadow behind her eyes, and she knew she wasn't fooling him.

.

Casey enjoyed the meal but it was the way one enjoys a last supper. She noted everything in vivid details. The colours in the restaurant, the way Derek's eyes sparkled in the candlelight, but most of all she noticed the smells. They were soft and warm and friendly. She caught herself sighing in regret for what she was about to lose, and noticed Derek tense at the sound. His fingers laced with hers on the table.

"You okay, princess?" He asked.

"I'm fine, Derek." She lied, and they both knew it.

She wondered how she could have been so naïve as to think that this would all last; that she could carry on travelling and working with her husband. She knew now that it wouldn't work, it broke her heart, but Derek _was_ going to leave her.

As soon as they finished the main course, Derek asked for the bill.

"Come on." He said. "Let's go back to the hotel. You obviously aren't happy and we can't talk here."

Reluctantly, Casey nodded.

The walk back to the hotel was in silence, and though he held her hand, Derek felt Casey was miles away. He brushed the sense of foreboding from his mind and tried to be cheerful, but it didn't work. He wondered what he had done to lose Casey like this and he too sighed audibly.

Casey caught the sound, and a silent tear ran down her cheek.

.

Back in their room, they sat on their bed and the silence remained. Finally, when Derek could stand it no more, he sat forward and took Casey's face in his hand.

"I love you." He said forcefully, but not roughly. "I love you and I want to know what I did to lose you."  
Casey closed her eyes against the emotions. "Kiss me." She asked softly. Derek did so, tasting the tears on her lips. He brushed tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and then his mouth and the kissing became desperate, passionate.

"Don't pull away from me." He pleaded as they started pulling at each other's clothes.

"You'll leave me." Casey said with certainty. Derek shook his head and whenever she tried to speak he kissed her words away.

.

Half an hour later, physically sated and emotionally drained, Casey lay in Derek's arms, her hair across his chest being combed by his fingers as he gazed at her.

"What's going on, Casey?" He asked. "I need to know. It feels like you're about to bolt for the door any moment, as though everything you are doing is for the last time."

"This is all over." Casey said, sadly.

Derek went cold. "What's all over?" Praying she didn't mean the marriage.

"I can't come with you anymore."

Her husband frowned. Now he was confused.

Casey sighed. "I think I'm having our baby."

Derek's eyes bugged out of their sockets. "You think you're _what?_" He exclaimed.

Casey looked down and mumbled. "I think I'm pregnant."

Derek's heart did a little flip and then he frowned. "Why so gloomy?" He asked, stunned. "If you are that would be fantastic news…exactly what we want!"

Casey's eyes came back up to meet him. "IS it?" She asked timidly. "I can't travel with you, you'd have to leave me and travel on your own. I'd be stuck at home growing fat while you enter war zone after war zone. We'd drift apart and…"

Derek met her mouth with his own. He kissed the air from her lungs and then tilted her chin up so that she couldn't hide from him.

"You never can stop over-thinking things can you? Hell Casey! I thought you were leaving me!"

"What? No! What gave you that idea?"

"I think the phrase 'It's all over' springs to mind."

His wife rested her forehead against his chest. "I didn't mean it like that." She sighed. "Will you still love me when I'm fat?"

"Will you still love me when I'm bald?"

"Bald? Are you likely to go bald?" Casey sat upright.

"Are you likely to get fat?" Derek smirked.

"It's normal with pregnancy."

"Firstly, we don't know for certain that you are pregnant, and secondly, Casey if you get fat as a result of carrying our baby it doesn't count okay? There is nothing hotter for a guy than the sight of a woman with a belly swollen with the baby _he_ put there."

"I'd rather not get fat."

Derek sat up and rested his elbows on his knees. "Do you want our baby?" He asked seriously.

"Almost as much as I want you." Casey said shyly. "I'm just scared Derek, and I think when you think about it properly, you'll be scared too. We'll lose so much of what we are."  
"And gain so much more, princess." He brushed the hair away from her face. "I love you, and I want the happily ever after. We talked about this."  
"I know. I just don't want to wait at home knowing what you're going through."

Derek kissed her forehead. "I'm not doing this without you."

"I can't travel anymore Derek, I'll need to see doctors and things."

"I know. I meant I'll take up some of the domestic options Jazz has been negotiating."

They had stayed in touch with Jazz and Penny, and when Jazz transferred and then graduated from Harvard Business School with honours, it seemed only fitting that he handle their business affairs. Penny had taken on the role of agent for them, and Jazz was their business manager. It shouldn't work, but it did.

"You'd stay in the US?" Casey asked. Derek shook his head.

"I think it's time we went back to Canada."

Casey threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. Derek laughed.

"I'm not going to object to reactions like that." He said, rubbing her back. "But don't you think we ought to settle the question of whether baby Venturi is imminent or not? I wonder if there are any late night pharmacies around here."

"No need." Casey said, fidgeting with the sheets on the bed. "I bought a test before I left the states. It's in my wash-bag."

"Why didn't you take it?" Derek asked.

"I sort of wanted to do that with you." Casey admitted… then she saw the strangled look on her husband's face. "Not the _act_!" she exclaimed. "I meant that I wanted you to be waiting outside the door knowing what I was doing inside."

Derek looked amused. Casey rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." She huffed.

"Sure. Go on then." He sat back against the head board, his arms folded.

"What?"

"No time like the present." He nodded towards the bathroom door.

"What!"

"Go on Casey. Let's find out now."

"But I…"

Derek sat forward again. "You need to know Casey, so that you can stop taking the pill and start eating properly. You can't survive on army rations when you're pregnant. And you shouldn't have any alcohol either."  
"Oh my god! What if I am? I had wine tonight."

"Casey, remember when Nora was carrying Robbie, how she was allowed the occasional glass? Not that she did drink very often but remember the doctor saying that if it stopped her freaking out about being an older mom then a glass of wine was a good thing?"

She grinned, remembering how panicked her mom had been about the glass of wine she had had in the week she discovered _she_ was pregnant.

"Go sweetheart." Derek said softly. "I'm here waiting to find out if I'm going to be a dad, and the suspense is killing me."

.

A few minutes later, Casey emerged carrying the covered stick. Derek straightened on the bed. He had pulled his t-shirt and boxers back on. Like a lot of reporters, he wore dog tags around his neck. Casey wore an identity chain around her neck too, in the form of a more feminine pendant.

"How long?" Derek asked.

"Two minutes." She said quietly sitting down beside him. "You know, I was thinking."

"Oh god!" Derek teased. Casey grinned.

"No this is good, I think. I really like the idea of going back home for a while, you know? Even if I'm not…It would be good to be a normal couple in a normal house for a while."

Derek pulled her close. "No one could ever accuse us of being normal." He muttered into her hair. "But I agree."

She turned her wrist and looked at her watch. "We look together?"  
"Will I see Casey piss?" Derek asked. She gave him a wilting look.

"No moron. Just a little window with lines in it if I am and nothing if I'm not."

"Okay."

"Ready?"  
"No. But just do it."

Casey pulled the stick from its little case and they stared at the window.

* * *

"You've been evicted." Dennis announced on the phone to Casey.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You're going to have to stay at your mom's when you come to town. The annex is already in use."

Casey frowned. "Okay…"

"Lizzie's staying there." Her father elaborated. Now Casey was really confused.

"Why's Lizzie staying at yours and not home?" She asked.

* * *

"At least you had the decency to get married first and then tell us!" Nora said, laughing over the pile of laundry as she folded it. Casey watched her mother closely, looking for signs of a mental breakdown or a crack in the light-hearted façade. She found none.

"I don't understand." Casey said, meaning more the attitude of her mother than anything else. "If you're this chilled about it, why is Lizzie at Dad's?"

Nora coughed. "I don't want her to know I'm this chilled about it. I want her to think seriously about what she is doing before she runs off to Vegas and marries him."

"Like me, you mean?"

"My unhappiness about your marriage wasn't an act, Casey. I thought you were throwing everything away. Of course, I was wrong and you taught me to have a little faith, which is why your sister isn't getting quite the same treatment as you. I think it's only fair that she should have a few moments disquiet about it though, don't you?"

"Mom. Go easy on her. She's in love."

"Oh I am going easy on her. I spared her Fiona's opinion didn't I? Your aunt couldn't wait to voice her misgivings on the _disastrous_ affect my marriage had on my daughters' futures. She actually had the gall to imply the Venturis were red-necked in-breds."

Derek walked into the kitchen and laughed. "I don't know about that." He said. "But Dad's second cousin bore a remarkable resemblance to a horse."

Nora smiled at her son-in-law. "How was coffee with the reprobate?"

"Edwin? Well he flinches every time I mention your name, but I don't think he's really worried about your reaction anymore. Did you seriously walk in on them?"

Casey's mom nodded. "I saw more of my step-son than I ever want to see again." She admitted. "Thank you Derek, for being more…restrained…than your brother. I can do without shocks like that. Still at least it was me and not your father. He nearly blew a gasket when he found out. Anyone would have thought it was _his_ daughter his son was deflowering."

They all chuckled. Derek glanced at Casey and she nodded.

"Are you ready for another shock?" Derek asked, leaning against the kitchen cupboards. The smile disappeared from Nora's face.

"What?" She said.

"Relax, Mom." Casey said. "We're having a baby."


	55. SORRY: LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ

**AN: PLEASE READ THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT!**

**I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going to break one of my own rules and put a false chapter here.**

**The last chapter I wrote led to someone accusing me of being irresponsible and that has upset me a lot. I've had people accuse me of inaccuracy over things in my stories before (in most cases incorrectly) but never irresponsibility so I would like to clear this up.**

**The accusation is that I was wrong about the advice on drinking in pregnancy that Nora was given and that the way I portrayed it was dangerous and wrong.**

**I'd like to point out a couple of things.**

**First, I am 37 years old and a mother of two very beautiful young children. I had both of my children within the last decade so the whole having babies thing is still quite fresh in my mind.**

**Second, when it comes to medical matters I do not have a good imagination so things like childbirth are TOTALLY based on EXPERIENCE and therefore have happened in real life.**

**Thirdly, the health of anyone's children is very important to me and to suggest that something I wrote was liable to lead to a child developing FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME is upsetting.**

**I saw several doctors and midwives for the process of having both of my children – including consultant paediatricians at one of the largest teaching hospitals in the North of England. Despite what American politicians will have you believe the National Health Service in the UK provides some of the best maternity care in the world – and we don't pay for it. **

**I was told on several occasions that a single glass of wine once in a while was okay while pregnant, and yes occasionally, they joked about it calming me down – I was very nervous.**

**The official guidelines in the UK state that while zero consumption is preferable, unless there is a history of alcoholism in the mother, the recommendation is 1-2 units of alcohol per week is the "safe limit".**

**Having said that, I know of very few mothers who ever drank in their pregnancy unless it was a tiny glass of champagne at a family wedding or something.**

**Just in case any one was actually considering drinking while pregnant, let me warn you now **_**it tastes disgusting**_**. Everything changes while you are pregnant, the way things taste and smell…there was a hint to Casey's pregnancy in the beginning of that chapter when I mentioned how vivid everything smelled and looked.**

**I like to think that I consider the consequences of everything I write. If I am going to have to defend everything that I write when I know it is based on experience then I don't know that I can do this any longer.**

**Also. If you feel the need to criticise me in such a dramatic way, could you please PM me so that I don't have to put false chapters in to defend myself?**

**Thanks.**

**Sarah**

**(End of rant…I'm going to go and sob in peace.)**


	56. Decadence

**AN: A quick note to thank everyone for their support. Apparently I have a lot of medical personnel among my readers, and it was nice to see that they supported me as much as everyone else. **

* * *

"You realise we'll always have ten years on them." Derek said leaning back on the grass bank and playing with Casey's hair. They were watching Edwin charging down the slope of the park, carrying Lizzie on his back. Casey found it strange to watch her newly-married sister behaving like a newly wed. She wondered if Derek and herself had ever looked like that. Then she remembered the way he had cornered her in their kitchen first thing this morning and decided that they had never really stopped the silliness and giggling of newly weds. Not even two children had changed that!

The youngest stirred in her sleep as she lay on Derek's chest, a tiny ear resting against Derek's heart and Casey knew the steady beating of her father's heart was one of the main reasons why her tiny daughter was asleep right now. She turned her head slightly to check on their first born who was chasing his uncle Robbie around the park, squealing with delight.

"Ten years." Casey said.

Derek smirked. "I should be due for parole soon."

"That's an old joke, Derek. Is your sense of humour rusty?"

"Of course not. But the old ones are the best."

They were quiet for a moment.

"Do you realise that as of this year, I've known you for a longer than not? We're getting old."

"Speak for yourself, Venturi." Derek objected.

"Of course," Casey said slyly. "You are nearly six months older than me." She brushed a finger against his temple. "Oooh! Is that a grey hair?"

"Where?" Derek asked in a panicked voice a little too loudly and the baby lying on him snuffled as she stirred.

"Der-ek!" Casey hissed. "She needs to sleep. She didn't sleep well last night."  
"I know, honey. I was there, remember?"

"She's only little, Derek. Not even six months. Steven didn't sleep through until seven months."

"I thought girls were supposed to be different. You know…easier." He smirked at Casey. "I guess she's a night owl like her mother." He said and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. His wife looked despairingly at him.

He was thoughtful for a moment. "I spoke to Nora about next month." He said cautiously. Casey looked surprised.

"And?"

"She thinks it's a great idea. She wants to be the one to set the venue up."

"It's just our backyard, Derek."

"I know. But I think she's got ideas about drapes and something called a bower?" Derek sounded even more hesitant as though he wasn't sure of the words. Casey sighed.

"This is what Dad warned me about ten years ago. He said mom was mourning the lost opportunity to plan my wedding. I guess she wants to plan our Vow Renewal as well."

Her husband started playing with her hair again. "I think we should let her." He said quietly.

"Oh? Why?"  
"She's volunteered to have the kids for two weeks so that I can take you on a proper honeymoon."

Casey's eyes widened. "Did you say yes?" She said eagerly. Derek chuckled.

"Eager much?"

"We don't get enough alone time." Casey said with a pout.

"No we don't. But, thanks to Nora, we will…" He wiggled his eyebrows again. "Maybe we could work on baby number three…"

* * *

"You look beautiful, darling!" Nora exclaimed, camera in hand as she and Casey stood in Casey's bedroom. Nora was wearing what can best be described as a mother-of-the-bride outfit. It was new, despite the fact that it was less than a year since Lizzie and Edwin's wedding and she had had a new outfit for that occasion. George had held his tongue. He knew how important it was for Nora to look good at Casey and Derek's "second wedding", a phrase which everyone had adopted because as Derek explained "vow renewal" sounded painful.

She had chosen a deep cherry red suit and was delighted when Casey decided to incorporate the colour into the wedding scheme. Derek had silently congratulated his wife on that one. He figured that was good for another weekend away at some point further down the line.

Casey was dressed in a simple white dress, because as she told her mother when Nora wanted to buy a proper wedding dress, "Mom. I'm a bit old and married to look virginal!"

"Where did you get the dress?"

"I got married in it." Casey said simply. "The first time."

"And you kept it?"  
"It was my wedding dress. Of course I kept it. I'm rather proud of the fact I still fit in it after two children."

"That's very sweet, Casey. Are the children ready?"

"Yes. Lizzie has taken them in hand. I think she's practising."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Yes. So I heard."

Casey laughed. "Squeaky bed?"

"Not this time, no. I overheard a conversation that told me rather too much information about my daughter's sex life."

"Not again!" Casey laughed.

Nora nodded. "Thank goodness you weren't like that."

"We were mom. We were just living in New York."

There was a knock at the door and Dennis popped his head in. "Ready?" He asked.

Casey nodded and picked up the little bouquet her mother had bought her.

.

The backyard of Derek and Casey's home had been transformed by Nora into a flower garden edged with drapes of fabric and little sparkling lights for later when the night fell. Everything was laid out for a full wedding, including seating for the guests to watch the ceremony, a tented area at one end filled with damasked circular dining tables, and a dance floor. Nora had got her way over the bower and there was a little rose-covered arch for Derek and Casey to stand under in front of the minister while they recited the words which were the only departure from a real wedding. They would be renewing their vows, not making them for the first time.

A very long time ago, Nora had been persuaded to sit down with the rest of the family to watch the DVD of the original wedding. To Nora's surprise, Barry White aside, it wasn't as bad as she had assumed. Both Derek and Casey looked as though they had made an effort. Ronald and Angelo were a double act which caused amusement and Derek's dramatic declaration at the end when he kissed Casey was there which made everyone laugh. However, there was still a note of confusion in Casey's mother's voice afterwards when she asked, "are you sure there wasn't something going on between you then?"

"Definitely nothing going on between us." Derek confirmed.

Nora shrugged. "Interesting. Because you sure do touch each other a lot on the video."

.

Dennis walked Casey to Derek as some soft classical music played. Casey's husband smiled as she joined him.

"Nice dress." Derek said. "I liked it then, I like it even more now."

With their children creating havoc behind them, in front of a hundred close friends and family, and just six months after their tenth wedding anniversary, Derek and Casey once again swore to love each other till death do us part.

* * *

"Tell me Derek. I hate secrets."  
"No."

Casey pouted and looked every bit the teenaged girl he had "grown up" with. Derek chuckled.

"Forget it, princess. I ain't telling."

"I need to know, Derek. I know it can't be far or for long because you wouldn't let me bring a suitcase. But, I need to know because I don't know if I have all the right things with me."  
"I know. Annoying, isn't it?" He didn't sound at all annoyed. "Just be grateful that we are going to be so quick through _customs_ because we've only got carry ons."

Casey squeezed his hand. "But I might have forgotten something important, like my pill or maybe I should have brought more than one pair of panties."

"Casey, I thought you told me last night you had come off the pill again…and believe me you won't need more than one pair of panties."

His wife stopped dead in the middle of the airport departure concourse. "I won't _what_!"

Derek laughed. "I meant, you beautiful, silly girl, that I will buy you an entire new wardrobe…including lingerie." He grinned and pointed to one of the check-in desks.

**Flight AC880**

**Paris CDG**

"Paris!" Casey squealed. "You're taking me to Paris!" She threw herself at Derek nearly bowling him over.

"I seem to remember promising you I would one day."

She pulled back. "Yeah. What took you so long?" She teased and then kissed him long and hard. Derek slipped his arms around her.

"Will you stop nagging me about our destination now?"

She grinned. "Oh Yeah!" Then her eyes widened. "Hang on. Did you say you'd buy me an _entire_ new wardrobe…including lingerie…in _Paris_?"

Derek nodded.

"You do realise that is going to be _very expensive_ don't you Derek?"

Her husband laughed. "Yes. But it's an investment."

Casey eyed him suspiciously. "Oh?"

His eyes darkened and he pressed himself up against her. "You…Parisian Lace…me…no children for three whole weeks. Very large European beds."

Casey was melting under his gaze. "_Three_ weeks?"

"Nora was feeling guilty about her reaction to our first marriage. The kids will be fine without us for so long. We haven't left them for more than a night, they'll be excited." He kissed her and Casey forgot how to breathe. "I think you've forgotten how much my body loves yours. After ten years, you need a very _thorough_ reminder."

"I can't wait." She whispered. "Maybe I should have stayed on the pill."

Derek kissed her again. "Nah. We both want more kids, why wait. And what better place to conceive?" Casey smiled at him.

"Come on Mrs V. Let's go check in."

Casey let him lead her to the check-in desk and as the clerk was dealing with their tickets, Derek turned to Casey with a grin.

"Just promise me something."

"Right now, I'd give you anything, Derek."

"Cool. But all I want is a guarantee."

"Of what?"  
"We're staying at the Hilton just off the Champs Elysees. If we are successful in producing number three, please don't call the child Paris."

* * *

**AN: The Hilton Champs Elysees is really nice. I stayed there during the great European Volcanic Ash Debacle.**


	57. Maybe Forever

Butterscotch, caramel, maple syrup. Choosing a hair colour was making Casey hungry, and these days it wasn't as easy to get the weight off. She was still very slim but with a healthier physique. Four children had added slight curves to her body which she both loved and hated: loved because they were a sign of her motherhood, hated because they were a reminder that she no longer had the body of a teenager.

Casey Venturi had turned fifty last birthday though you wouldn't think it to look at her. Like her mother, Casey had aged well and it wasn't unheard of for people to gauge her age at more than a decade lower than the reality. However, she had been thinking lately that the time had come to break out the hair colour. The greys had finally arrived.

She picked up a box labelled "caramel" and tossed it into the shopping cart.

"Watcha doing with that?" The voice spoke from behind her.

Casey pointed at her hair without looking behind her. "Greys." She explained.

A pair of arms slid around her waist and Derek rested his chin on her shoulder. "I like your greys. Every one of them reminds me of a prank I've played on you. See this one here was the passport panties, this one here was me reminding you that you were late for school – on a Saturday, this one is was the first time I put honey in your shampoo bottle…"

Casey bent her head round to look at them. "Are you pointing out _how many_ grey hairs I have?" she asked with mock indignity.

"No." He backtracked hastily. She snorted.

"You have greys too, you know." She informed him.

"Yup. And you caused most of them."

"Oh?" She said turning in his arms.

"This one was when you got taken from that bathroom by Stefan." He said pointing to his own head but the humour had gone from his voice. "This one here was the horrible three hours I endured waiting for you to come out of surgery for your gall bladder. This one here was for when you almost bled to death having our youngest."

Casey's eyes softened.

"Sorry." She said sadly.

"For what? The important thing is you're still here and you're still my wife. Grey hairs or no grey hairs."

"Thirty years, Derek."

"I know. Guess what Spacey? We grew old together!"

She smiled at his boyish smile, and in her eyes he was still fifteen…or maybe twenty one. There were still a few alterations necessary when he was fifteen.

"Shall we do something special for this anniversary?" She asked.

"We always do something special. But if you want, we could go away?" He asked, knowing she would never agree to that.

"And be away for the birth of our first grandchild? Don't be stupid."

"We could just get take out and spend the day in bed."

"We did that last year…remember? And Stig and Lucy decided to drop by unexpectedly with a bottle of champagne." Casey could feel herself blushing at the memory of opening the front door at 2pm in the afternoon still in her robe and nothing else. Their eldest son had been full of concern wanting to know what was the matter with Casey until Derek emerged, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a big grin.

Stig had taken it in good part, because he was used to his parents' and their very active need for each other. Casey's embarrassment was more about Lucy being there.

She needn't have worried. Lucy too had a set of parents who were very in love still. Stig and Lucy had left the champagne and retreated, but the next time Casey saw her beautiful daughter-in-law and tried to apologise, Lucy told the story of coming home from college unexpectedly and walking into her own childhood home aged nineteen to find her father making love to her mother on the stairs.

Casey found it hard to look Lucy's mother, a good friend of hers, in the eye the next time they met.

Back in the Personal Grooming aisle of Walmart, Casey giggled to herself.

"What are you laughing at?" Derek asked.

"Cathy and James." Casey admitted. It was all she needed to say because Derek knew exactly what she meant.

"We could go to a hotel." Derek said after a moment's thought, and she noted his eyes were looking at the packs of contraceptives lined up on the supermarket shelves beside them. She frowned. Since the traumatic birth of baby number four, where Casey had been rushed to theatre for an emergency hysterectomy, they didn't need contraceptives. Then she spotted the _additional_ items lined up beside them and her jaw dropped.

"A vibrating _what_?" She exclaimed in shock. Derek looked at her amused.

"Wow! Prude Casey returns after thirty years…who'd have thought!"

"I'm not being a prude, Derek."

He chuckled. "It would be a bit misplaced, wouldn't it? I mean it's not like you and I don't have …"

"Don't finish that sentence in public ,Venturi." She warned.

He stepped closer to the shelving. "Ooh…warming lube…tingle sensation…" his voice was getting louder and louder.

"Derek Venturi!" His wife warned, looking around to see if anyone was watching - embarrassed and trying not to giggle at the same time. "Stop that right now!"

He stepped back. "What _is_ your problem?" He asked.

Casey sighed leaned forward to whisper. "It's one thing to see that stuff in "The Joy of O"" she said, mentioning a small shop that she had been known to purchase …ahem…underwear from. "It's something else to see it in Wal-mart!"

Derek laughed. "Okay. I sort of see your point. Shall we move to another aisle?"

"_Please_!" Casey pleaded.

Derek pushed the cart around the corner in to the next aisle which appeared to be something called Bargain Goods. He chuckled as he saw the picnic blankets and other items more suitable for the warmer weather. He wished them good luck selling those in the depths of the current Canadian winter.

But it got him thinking about their little "Summer House" in the yard. It had solid wooden walls and small windows at the front to keep the heat of the Summer out, but with the addition of a couple of heavy curtains and a wood-burning stove it might just be habitable for a couple of hours on a cold Winter's night. It wouldn't need to be longer than that – just long enough for a Winter picnic and maybe a little something extra afterwards. His mind filled with a scene of warm flickering flames, soft cushions and downy comforters, a picnic rug covered with warming picnic food – and his wife in a little something from "The Joy of O".

Perfect for an anniversary…

"What's that smirk for?" Casey said, noticing his distraction.

"Nothing, honey." He said with a grin.

"Why don't I trust you?"

Derek shrugged. "Experience?" He answered.

"What are you up to?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You'll find out soon enough." Derek answered and when she glared at him he buckled. "Just planning our anniversary."

"I thought you didn't have any idea what to do for it."  
"I had some inspiration." He said cheerfully.

"In the Bargain area of Wal-mart?" Casey didn't sound impressed. Derek slipped an arm around her shoulder.

"Believe me, princess, you'll love it." There was something about the way he said it that sent shivers of anticipation down Casey's spine and not for the first time, she sent a small prayer of thanks to whatever omnipotent force had created her and placed her on this earth to enjoy her husband the way she did.

He pressed himself against her in a needy way and Casey felt his lips on her neck.

"Our anniversary isn't for another fortnight, Derek." She said, feeling the need to go somewhere private with this man _right now_.

Derek trapped her between his body and the shopping cart and kissed her lips, causing an older lady to tut as she hurried past.

"I know. But we could do with the practice. Let's just go now." He had hold of her hand and she could feel him starting to pull her towards the door.

"What about the shopping cart?" She asked, by now she was being gently dragged towards the exit.

"Leave it." Derek said. "We'll come back tomorrow."

"But I don't have anything in for tea." She protested.

"We'll order in." Derek answered, picking up the pace. "And when the food arrives we'll stick a note on the front door telling all callers to go away!"

Casey managed to get him to stop as they reached the exit. Derek stopped and looked at her.

"I love my wife." He said, not keeping his voice down at all. "I really want to take her home and make love to her."

A twenty something lad walking passed sniggered and muttered something about "getting it up, granddad".

That wound Casey up.

"Okay, husband." She said loud enough for the lad to hear. "You can take me home and have sex with me, but I get to go on top at least twice."

Derek grinned at her, loving the fact that his wife had grown into such a beautiful, confident and _loyal_ partner.

"Mine!" He announced with an evil laugh. "She's all mine!"

And then still holding her hand he led her giggling out to the parking lot.

.

Back inside the store, the young lad looked at the amused burly security guard standing by the door and then at the abandoned trolley in aisle six.

"I didn't know you could buy Viagra in Walmart." The lad said almost to himself.

_**The End**_

**AN: In the words of the immortal Freddie Mercury…another one bites the dust!**

**My longest ever story and although I personally haven't read it all the way through, I hope it will be seen as one of my better ones. I thought about putting all sorts of stuff in the final chapter about where everyone else ended up, but as Derek and Casey are in their fifties I decided that might be a little depressing. So I will leave it to you all to furnish the other cast members with suitable fates.**

**The idea for this final chapter was not mine! It was solely my friend Kim's. I have made tweaks to her idea, but I hope it is still the sort of thing that she had in mind…although her version probably wasn't quite so M-rated!**

**Can I just say to all the young uns out there, that FIFTY is actually not OLD so knock on your parents' front doors when you come home from college! (snigger) Remember, you are only as old as the man you feel and if you are lucky sex does not stop when you are thirty.**

**Right. Now I'm off to work on the two new stories (teasers on my facebook fan page under the Discussions tab). Updates might not be as frequent for a while as I need to do a bit of translation from Elizabethan English to Canadian Snark. The good news is that some chapters are nearly three times as long as my normal ones.**

**Until Next Time!**

**Sarah.**


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